In 2018 Martha donated a kidney to a woman she read about in the newspaper. She co-authored a book, Kidney to Share, published by Cornell University Press, about that experience and has given presentations at more than 35 transplant clinics, medical schools, and bioethics centers on her experience as a living kidney donor.
In today’s episode, we discuss donor disincentives- the factors that can make it difficult for somebody to donate a kidney, even though they may really want to. Martha breaks these disincentives into 3 categories: logistics, psychosocial and financial. The top 3 disincentives facing donors are the cost of travel and lodging associated with donation, loss of income while recovering from surgery, and cost of home and/or dependent care during the donor’s recovery.
Martha speaks candidly about her donation experience and how some of these disincentives made it difficult to donate a kidney. She also discusses how the disincentives she experienced may disproportionately affect a donor with a different background than her.
About Martha:
Martha Gershun is a nonprofit consultant, writer, and community volunteer with over 40 years of leadership experience in Fortune 500 corporations, start-up ventures, and non-profit organizations. Gershun graduated with a B.A. cum laude from Harvard University and holds an M.B.A. with first year honors from the Harvard Business School, where she studied marketing, service operations, and customer experience. She earned a graduate diploma in Economics from the University of Stirling, Scotland, where she was a Rotary International Fellow.
References
Removing Disincentives to Kidney Donation
Kidney to Share
Martha Gershun
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