Vox Editor Shares His Experience of Giving His Kidney to a Stranger Through Non-Directed Donation

Vox editor Dylan Matthews shared his personal account about donating one of his kidneys through a non-directed living kidney donors program. His donated kidney would go to a stranger who was in desperate need and also begin a chain of events that would allow others receive needed transplants. Videographer Joss Fong captured the entire mental and physical process that this generous man went through in order to help people he didn’t know.

We were part of a chain of donations that led to four people getting kidneys, all told. My recipient (let’s call him Craig) had a relative who was willing to donate a kidney to him. Unfortunately, the two didn’t match. So Craig and his relative agreed to a trade: If Craig got a kidney from somebody, his relative would still go forward and donate to someone else who needed a kidney.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

Recent Posts