I want to donate my kidney (not to anyone in particular, which would make the process far more straightforward), but I need help navigating the bureaucracy. Here are things I have seen about living kidney donation online:

• You can select five people to get priority access to kidneys if they need it (e.g., parents, spouse, kids)
• They will fly you to where you need to go for screening
• They will cover lost wages during recovery

Now I don't know who "they" is, or how to go about getting answers to these questions. Since I'm not tethered to a particular recipient, I can choose wherever to sign up, and I want to make the optimal choice both for myself and the recipient.

If you are a donor, especially an anonymous donor who's navigated this stuff, please reach out.

I've decided to give up my kidney to a stranger and document the process and hopefully my posts can be the kind of resources I wish I had when I first looked into this.

Someone here recently linked to Scott Alexander's post on his non-directed donation experience [1] and afterwards I got recommended Jesse Eisenberg's interview on his experience [2]. I think this led to me thinking about the subject and deciding that I at least need to look into this and see if my worries about it are founded. It turns out they are not. Here are the highlights of my research:

1. Compared to other activities, donating a kidney is not especially risky [1]
2. It is entirely free; all aspects of the process are free including travel [5]
3. If anyone in your family needs a kidney, they are at the very top of the list for a living donor kidney [3]
4. NKR will cover up to $2000/week in lost wages using Donor Shield [5], though if your work allows you to take paid time off, I highly recommend you save their resources for those without that luxury
5. Non-directed donors can use "chaining" to have their one donation result in 3-7 further donations due to matchmaking on the NKR (this is complicated to summarize, ask if you want information or see the link) [4]

Step 1: Reach out to the National Kidney Registry (NKR)

The ideal way to become a non-directed donor is to reach out first to the NKR. They run the family voucher program that protects your family should they need a kidney in the future. They first have screening questions, then there is a questionnaire about your medical history that you complete, and immediately upon completion, they have labs ready for you to take. I reached out to NKR yesterday morning and had labs completed yesterday afternoon at a local clinic.

As for what's next, my labs will come back and the NKR says I will then choose a preferred donation center. I have absolutely no idea what considerations matter when choosing the best donation center. I assume something local, since I can't fly immediately after surgery and the drive home will be painful.

If you've considered kidney donation and didn't do it, what held you back? I want to know to 1: see if I can correct a false belief you have about the process or 2: see if I should reconsider this whole thing. Also, if anyone wants to join me on this journey, click on any NKR link and click the donate button and let's do this!

[1] https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/my-left-kidney

[2] https://youtu.be/udZi-l8H5jY

[3] https://www.kidneyregistry.com/for-donors/i-want-to-help-a-stranger-in-need-of-a-kidney/

[4] https://www.kidneyregistry.com/for-donors/start-a-chain/

[5] https://www.kidneyregistry.com/for-donors/kidney-donation-blog/does-it-cost-anything-to-donate-a-kidney/