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Would you give one of your kidneys to your best friend? It seems the ultimate act of friendship; yet studies have shown that at least half of all transplant physicians disapprove of the practice. Most transplant centers forbid it, accepting only living donors who are related to the patient. It is not fear of tissue rejection or some other biological concern that bothers these physicians. According to several surveys, transplant doctors suspect the motivation and mental health of unrelated donors.
Curiously enough, this point of view on friendship is not supported by the American public or by physicians in other fields. The vast majority of Americans surveyed in a recent Gallup Poll not only approved of friends donating kidneys, they also thought donating to strangers was a perfectly acceptable practice. A similar study of over 10 000 physicians and non-physicians by Dr. Spital, a researcher at New York's Rochester General Hospital, confirms the Gallup data. Spital suggests transplant centers should rethink their standard of judgment of donors. He says: "A sense of wanting to help someone prompts these noble-minded people to give."