Kidney donors are motivated by their love for humans
- Altruistic living donors are those who sacrifice their organs while they are alive
- Scientists have long thought they do so in belief they will be paid back somehow
- But new research suggests the opposite – that they won’t get something in return
- They hold the welfare of those they have never met in the same regard as family
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
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People who donate a kidney to a complete stranger are motivated by their love of the human race, scientists claim.
They hold the welfare of those they have never even met in the same regard than their family and friends, a study shows.
The findings shed light on the growing phenomenon – and suggests ‘altruistic living donors’ do not think they will be paid back somehow.
Researchers have long pointed to a belief that they will receive something in return for their selfless sacrifice.
Living kidney donors hold the welfare of those they have never even met in the same regard than their family and friends, a study shows
Now, in the first study of its kind that compared the actions of donors with ordinary members of the public, psychologists have shown the opposite.
One psychologist described the finding, published in Nature Human Behaviour, as news that ‘inspires hope for the future’.
Dr Tobias Kalenscher, of Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, said: ‘In today’s Zeitgeist of nationalist protectionism and populist individualism, this news inspires hope for the future.’
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In the Georgetown University study, 60 participants, including 21 who had donated a kidney, performed a money allocation task.
They were given asked to choose how much to keep and how much to give away to computer avatars representing different social relationships – including blood relatives, unrelated family, friends, neighbours and strangers.
There was no difference between the groups in how closely related they felt to others – known as ‘social distancing’ to measure someone’s acceptance of people.
The findings shed light on the growing phenomenon – and suggests ‘altruistic living donors’ do not think they will be paid back somehow
KIDNEY DONATIONS: THE FACTS
In Britain and the US, the number of people choosing to donate an organ anonymously is growing year on year.
Altruistic living donors do not have a recipient in mind but volunteer to donate a kidney to someone who is need of a transplant.
In September, the NHS announced more than 500 people had helped save the life of stranger by sacrificing their organ while still alive.
Changes in the law eleven years ago made it possible for individuals to become living donors to people in need of a transplant whom they do not know and have never met – a behaviour known as ‘non-directed altruistic donation.’
In years past, willing altruistic donors were often turned away because hospitals assumed that they were mentally unwell.
It can be hard to understand why a person would sacrifice an internal organ for someone they may never meet.
But a dramatic difference emerged when it came to another trait called ‘social discounting’, according to the researchers.
This is known as the diminishing value that someone places on others’ welfare the more removed from their circle they are.
In each round, the participants could either behave selfishly by keeping a large sum of money to themselves, or generously by sharing it with the other individual.
The selfish choice ranged from keeping $150 (£116) to $75 (£58). The generous choice always stayed the same – keeping $75 or sharing $75.
While controls showed social discounting as observed in many previous studies, the donors’ generosity toward others decreased only minimally with larger social distance.
The value donors placed on the financial welfare of a complete stranger was identical to controls placed on the welfare of a good acquaintance.
Lead author Dr Kruti Vekaria said these people display empathy, but they are unsure as to why they are willing to risk their own health for strangers.
Donors are warned of the long-term risks of giving up one of their organs before undergoing the procedure.
Scientists have previously found that donating a kidney may lead to high blood pressure in the future.
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