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Organ Donation

By , About.com Guide

Updated: January 03, 2009

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Altruistic Living Organ Donation

organ donation and organ transplants

Organ Donation Awareness Logo

Image: Donate Life America
Altruistic donation is the same as living related organ donation in most ways, except the donor and the recipient are not related, nor are they friends. An altruistic donor is a person who decides to donate an organ, typically a kidney, to a complete stranger with no expectation of compensation or reward.

While an altruistic donor may at some point meet the recipient of his or her organ, both parties must agree to the meeting, otherwise the parties remain anonymous.

Sources:

The United Network For Organ Sharing

Transplant Living, a Division of UNOS. TransplantLiving.org

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