Posted on 06/21/2002 5:56:58 PM PDT by RJCogburn
I recently decided to participate in the National Marrow Donor Program Registry in which a blood sample is tissue typed. Should someone (that I do not know) need a donor and my tissue type be a match, I would donate marrow (or blood for peripheral stem cells).
I am a big fan of Rand's, though not an orthodox Objectivist. I wonder what she would have to say about this
Certainly she considered the altruistic philosophy - self sacrifice - to be evil. Yet she did allow for voluntary charity in cases where the recipient was deserving and the donor not harmed by the 'charitable' act.
Any thoughts?
Ayn Rand considered FORCED "self sacrifice" to be evil. What you are doing is noble and selfless and you are doing it because you WANT to. Ayn Rand would have no problems with it, and would encourage it.
If you were *forced* to participate in a National Database, that'd be a different story entirely.
BTW: Good for you! My wife is registered as a bone marrow donor, and she's had three "close calls" where she was ALMOST a match. She does it because she genuinely wants to help people, and she has a true servants heart. Me on the other hand, am deathly afraid of needles!
No, it's noble and selfish. He derives a benefit from it, and that makes all the difference.
Well, I think what she really objected to was the notion that self sacrifice was a good thing in itself, or that one ought to feel an obligation for such...even if voluntarily done.
That is a matter I have considered. One does not know who the recipient is. I would not knowingly donate to such a person. I have considered it in part as a sort of "trade" in which I am willing to help an unknown person of unknown character in exchange for the willingness of some unknown person to help one of my kids or my sweetie, Ms. Eula Goodnight, or anyone else dear to me, should that unhappy moment arrive.
I've heard of this several times in the past few years but have never heard of how you get typed/matched etc to be put into the list and I am very much interested in doing this.
MKM
I agree and had already decided to proceed. The question though interested me.
There is an 800 number.
1-800MARROW2
An odd feature.....there is a charge to the donor - that's you or me - of $75 to have the tissue typing done. They say there will be no further charges for anything thereafter. I do not know if that charge is nationwide or varies by center....for me it is the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, though I can have my blood drawn here at home in NH.
What a crock. I really am interested in possibly donating but NO WAY am I gonna pay $75 to do so.
MKM
What a twisted thread, and a twisted question this is!... let me ask you this... should we interview all medical patients to determine and categorize their politics so that no one ever accidently donates to someone they may have philisophical differences with? Wouldn't want to accidently receive a marxist liver either if I were dying. Better interview the donors too!
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