# Organ Donation Question: If Parents Can Donate, But Simply Won't **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 29, 2019, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-question-if-parents-can-donate-but-simply-wont/837809 "2019-07-29T14:06:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-question-if-parents-can-donate-but-simply-wont/837809/1 "2019-07-29T14:06:53Z")
Mr. and Mrs. A are healthy adults with good jobs and good health insurance. They are also from a culture that values males much more than females. Their minor daughter (age doesn’t matter; say 13 because why not), B, needs a kidney transplant. Mom and Dad could both be donors, but both steadfastly refuse because fuck B, she’s a girl. In the US, could a court force either parent to donate a kidney, on pain of a jail sentence, or the girl being put into foster care, or whatever? Or is she just out of luck? [Story that inspired this question](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bihar-no-donor-for-16-year-old-girl-who-needs-urgent-kidney-transplant-for-survival-1574445-2019-07-28) (although the specifics are quite different). ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-question-if-parents-can-donate-but-simply-wont/837809/2 "2019-07-29T14:39:23Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > In the US, could a court force either parent to donate a kidney, on pain of a jail sentence, or the girl being put into foster care, or whatever? Or is she just out of luck? We can’t even compel people to donate organs _after_ they die. No court in the US will compel people to donate organs before they die. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-question-if-parents-can-donate-but-simply-wont/837809/3 "2019-07-29T16:21:38Z")
I don’t see how any court can force an individual to go through an operation that they haven’t agreed to. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-question-if-parents-can-donate-but-simply-wont/837809/4 "2019-07-29T17:28:30Z")
[Such a story](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-09-17-9003180116-story.html). The courts cannot even force a person to be tested to see if they are a possible donor. ---
**Author:** ![purple\_cow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b487fb/32.png) [@purple\_cow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purple_cow)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-question-if-parents-can-donate-but-simply-wont/837809/5 "2019-07-29T18:57:41Z")
At least in the US, the results of the test are secret. My sisters and I were all tested for a match when my mother needed a kidney. I got the result and it was up to me to inform her whether I was a match or not. Only once I had told both her and the hospital that I was a match was the process of setting up the transplant begun. If I had said I was not a match, or even if i had refused the test, no one would have known. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-question-if-parents-can-donate-but-simply-wont/837809/6 "2019-07-29T19:03:57Z")
> [@purple\_cow](#): > > At least in the US, the results of the test are secret. My sisters and I were all tested for a match when my mother needed a kidney. I got the result and it was up to me to inform her whether I was a match or not. Only once I had told both her and the hospital that I was a match was the process of setting up the transplant begun. If I had said I was not a match, or even if i had refused the test, no one would have known. Well yes- it’s only half a joke that the results of a DNA test may reveal the person is not related to their supposed father, for example. There is some reluctance for the medical community to insert themselves in to “pedigree error” reveals. Can a parent force a minor child to be tested for compatibility? I imagine an interesting court case possibly involving CFS would result if the parents tried to get a minor to donate a kidney or half a liver. (The flip side of the OP’s question would be “well of course our young daughter should donate a kidney to daddy/brother…” ) ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-question-if-parents-can-donate-but-simply-wont/837809/7 "2019-07-29T19:21:41Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Can a parent force a minor child to be tested for compatibility? I imagine an interesting court case possibly involving CFS would result if the parents tried to get a minor to donate a kidney or half a liver. [Or, you could conceive another child that will become a donor to one of your existing kids.](https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/04/health/more-babies-being-born-to-be-donors-of-tissue.html) > [@](#): > > The Ayalas, who live in Walnut, Calif., announced last February their decision to conceive a baby as the best hope of finding compatible marrow for Anissa. Abe Ayala, the father, had a vasectomy reversed. The mother, Mary Ayala, was 42 when she conceived. This story is almost 30 years old, but it mentions 40 babies that have been conceived to become a donor for a relative. I have no idea if this happens today. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-question-if-parents-can-donate-but-simply-wont/837809/8 "2019-07-29T19:34:23Z")
Even if it was possible to force a parent to do this, no doctor would be willing to do the operation as every operation has potential complications including death of the donor. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-question-if-parents-can-donate-but-simply-wont/837809/9 "2019-07-29T19:36:56Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > [Story that inspired this question](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bihar-no-donor-for-16-year-old-girl-who-needs-urgent-kidney-transplant-for-survival-1574445-2019-07-28) (although the specifics are quite different). Just fleshing out the specifics from your link to emphasize how different they are: > [@](#): > > Kumari’s grandfather Baleshwar Yadav told the publication that the doctors said besides finding a kidney, the cost of the surgery will be Rs five lakh [about US $7000, which is some five times the average per capita income in India], but there will still be no guarantee of her survival. > > Yadav ruled out the possibility of Kumari’s father Ramashray donating his kidney for the treatment as he will not be able to carry out his work with just one kidney. > > Ramashray is the sole breadwinner in the family of seven and our survival will be at stake if he donates his kidney, Yadav added. > > Kumari’s parents have decided to bring her home from the hospital as they do not have any financial means to support her treatment. But yeah, your overall premise does have some basis in attitudes toward women in very patriarchal cultures: > [@](#): > > However, data shows that very few women in Bihar have received kidneys from their relatives in case of emergency. > > Data sourced by the newspaper also showed that a larger share of women in Bihar donated their kidneys while there were only a small number of recipients. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-question-if-parents-can-donate-but-simply-wont/837809/10 "2019-07-30T02:35:06Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > [Or, you could conceive another child that will become a donor to one of your existing kids.](https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/04/health/more-babies-being-born-to-be-donors-of-tissue.html) > > This story is almost 30 years old, but it mentions 40 babies that have been conceived to become a donor for a relative. I have no idea if this happens today. Here’s a[2013 update on the Ayala sisters](https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/05/22/woman-conceived-in-1988-to-save-sisters-life-graduates-college/). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-question-if-parents-can-donate-but-simply-wont/837809/11 "2019-07-31T05:34:50Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > This story is almost 30 years old, but it mentions 40 babies that have been conceived to become a donor for a relative. I have no idea if this happens today. Yes, it still does (I’ve seen a case mentioned in Spanish newspapers in recent months). It’s not terribly common mainly because depending on what’s needed, there simply isn’t enough time for the donor baby to get big enough; marrow seems to be a good candidate for “ok, let’s make another kid and cross every digit!” ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-question-if-parents-can-donate-but-simply-wont/837809/12 "2019-07-31T14:03:50Z")
IIRC that was also the concept in Jodi Picoult’s novel _My Sister’s Keeper_, and movie made from the book. I guess bone marrow isn’t quite so invasive and risky and permanent as giving away one of your kidneys or half your liver.