The Cellar - Great Idea!

I like the title of this thread, so here is major thread drift....

I read an article about this a few weeks ago, but it was more confusing than enlightening.
Maybe this one explains what is happening in the kidney transplant arena...

Huffington Post
8/3/12

Honica Brittman Kidney Transplant Chain: Woman's Altruism Spurs 5 Kidney Swaps

Quote:

A soon-to-be wed gay couple, a retired teacher and his wife,
and two pairs of fathers and sons were among those whose lives were changed
one extraordinary day this week when a 35-year-old single mother of four
from North Carolina donated a kidney to a stranger in New York.<snip>

Brittman, who decided to be part of the swap after learning
she could not donate to a family friend because of incompatibility,
represents what experts say is a critical and growing number of "altruistic"
or "non-directed" donors, people willing to donate to anyone in need
as long as their blood type, antigens and other factors are compatible.
<snip>

The series of operation on Wednesday and Thursday, which required 10 separate surgical teams
and weeks of coordination, was made up of a series of swaps within a group of men and women
between the ages of 23 and 68 and with compatible blood types,
all motivated by a mix of compassion and commitment to their loved ones.

The chain started with Brittman, who donated a kidney to a 39-year-old television producer,
whose fiancée and partner of more than 10 years donated to a businessman from upstate New York.

In turn, the businessman's son, a college-age student who felt that for being healthy
and the youngest of four sons, he should step up on behalf of his father
and donate one of his kidneys to another young man, a 23-year-old originally from Haiti.

His father then donated to a retired teacher from New Jersey.

Lots and lots of good on them...