The Organ Donor Experience ─ Good Samaritans and the Meaning of Altruism

Organ donors are, by definition, altruists, and their act is even more generous when they remain anonymous. But altruism doesn't tell the whole story. There are myriad motivations, some subconscious, some conscious, that compel people to donate a part of themselves to someone they don't know. The Organ Donor Experience uncovers the desires, personalities and motivations of Good Samaritan organ donors and reveals much about the process of donating an organ to a needy recipient.

Dr. Katrina A. Bramstedt is a noted medical ethicist associated with California Transplant Donor Network in Oakland, California. She also has a private practice in Marin County where she has performed over 800 ethics consultations and published over 75 articles in medical and bioethics journals. She lectures nationally and internationally and has made numerous appearances on television and radio discussing transplantation and donation.

Rena Down is an Emmy-award winning writer for theatre and television whose credits include The People vs. Inez Garcia" which she wrote and directed for PBS and Susan Griffin's Voices (Emmy award) which she directed for PBS. She was Story Editor and Producer of Dallas, Falcon Crest, Nurse, and has written five movies for television. She teaches writing at The New School University and is Adjunct Professor at Fordham University. She is the recipient of a kidney from a stranger.