It is more blessed to give than to receive, and one man who lives with glomerulonephritis (GN) knows all too well how helping people and doing a good deed out of the ordinary can elevate levels of happiness.
In 2004, Kurt donated one of his kidneys to his brother, Roger—an act of doing to others what we would like others do to us.
His brother lived with IgA nephropathy, and when his kidneys started to fail, Kurt stepped in so his brother would have a chance to live longer.
But, now, a recent diagnosis of GN has placed Kurt himself, on the organ donor recipient list. Interesting how things turn out, right?
What is glomerulonephritis?
GN is inflammation of the tiny filters in our kidneys. Also called glomerular disease, GN can be acute or chronic. Severe or prolonged inflammation associated with GN can damage the kidneys.
And this is why Kurt’s story serves as an interesting twist on altruism.
Do Our Bit
As kids, we all learned that altruism actually does wonders for our health, as well as our soul. And I’m guessing it’s a safe bet that the gift of life ranks among the top; the need for organ donors has never been greater.
In the United States, there are more than 120,000 people currently in need of organ transplants.
And each year, thousands of people die while waiting for a transplant because no suitable donor can be found.
The time has come when we cannot just rely on others to make the world a better place—each one of us has to do our bit.
Kindness is contagious; we might want to consider carrying out random acts of kindness on a daily basis.
It is truly a win-win-win situation:
- The person we are being kind to benefits
- We feel good for having helped someone
- The world is a better place through our kindness
Let’s make 2017 the year where we go for the trifecta!
