By: Natasha Archary
After hearing the story of a New York woman who was fired after donating her kidney to help save her boss’s life, Thomas and Skhumba asked listeners if they would donate an organ to a colleague.
It didn’t take most Kaya 959 listeners to declare a very firm no, with only one good samaritan saying she would have no issues donating either a partial or whole organ, including stem cells to anyone who needs it.
This listener, who has been an organ donor since the age of 19, said her decision to help save a life had nothing to do with who the recipient is. For her, donating an organ was also not conditional on what she got in return because it was her decision to be a donor.
The majority of responses were from listeners who shared Skhumba’s sentiments that no colleague was deserving of having a part of them.
Regardless of how close they were as colleagues, or how many years they have known each other or worked together, the decision to donate an organ to a colleague, would not change.
One listener pointed out that most people would not appreciate a second chance at life, and would not hesitate to throw you under the bus once they get what they want, which is what happened to Deborah Stevens.
In 2012, Stevens was fired by her employer shortly after saving her life by donating a kidney.
While Stevens’ kidney didn’t go directly to her employer, her actions did mean her employer was able to move up the donor list with a suitable kidney match.
Shortly after the surgery, Stevens expressed some complications from the surgery and needed to take a month off work to recover from the surgery.
Stevens was dismissed for apparent “performance issues”, and had to file a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights.
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Drive:
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