26.

  1. Donating one of one's kidneys to a relative.
  2. Donating one of one's kidneys to a friend.
  3. Donating one of one's kidneys to one's best friend.
  4. Donating one of one's kidneys to a stranger.

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27.

  1. Fear of tissue rejection.
  2. Some other biological concern.
  3. Suspicion of donors' real purpose and mental stability.
  4. The nursing needed after the transplanting.

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28.

  1. That it is acceptable whether the donor is a relative or a stranger to the patient.
  2. That it is acceptable only when the donor is a relative to the patient.
  3. That it should be strictly controlled.
  4. That it should be forbidden.

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29.

  1. Improve their facilities.
  2. Alter their ideas about donors.
  3. Carry out more surveys among physicians and non-physicians.
  4. Advertise for more donors.

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30.

  1. Transplant physicians and the public do not see eye to eye over the issue of kidney donation.
  2. The Gallup Poll reflects the public view.
  3. Most American donors offer their kidneys to patients out of selflessness.
  4. Most American donors offer their kidneys to patients out of selfish motives.

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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."