Danger of Public Kidney Donor Lists

I am all for organ donation. After all, I have had 2 kidney transplants myself. But, the thing I have noticed is that on kidney blogs there are people advertising that they will give a kidney and I have SEEN false advertising as well as I have seen all put their email addresses which since comments are public, spammers harvest the email addresses to spam many times over later.

Now the problem with the email harvesters are easy to see, but what is the threat with the false advertising? Well I got spammed on my site by someone offering their kidney who was not really interested in offering a kidney at all. I wanted to warn everyone about what just happened in October 2009 to my site. A man by the name of “strangewr” posted this:

strangewr (8:43 pm Oct 6, 2009) “hey guys i wanna donate my kidney perfect health no drugs or alcohal age 21 contact me at mail thanks……”

strangewr (8:47 pm Oct 6, 2009) “guys feel free 2 contact me at mail b+ blood…may god bless all”

Now looks all find and dandy except that his email address was that of a email harvesting spammer who collects emails of anyone who contacts him and then sends them to “the list” (not the kind you want to be on) to get sent a LOAD of SPAM!

Please be careful of who you contact when you contact anyone who posts their email addresses publicly! Just want to keep everyone safe!

Here is the proof of that:

http://www.projecthoneypot.org/ip_119.154.53.120

and

http://www.stopforumspam.com/search?q=119.154.53.120

Be smart, Be safe.

Also with advertising for a kidney publically you run the risk of this happening: Spammers using the comments section to simply spam.

Take a look at comments section of these well intentioned blogs:

http://kidneyinthenews.wordpress.com/kidney-donor-list/ ** Is actively moderated to prevent spam and is doing an excellent job now. Thx Mike for the update!

http://www.stayhealthyla.org/home/issues/view/78/

http://krystynamcoria009.blogspot.com/2006/11/desperate-for-cash-donate-kidney.html

Now with the first one, I know that person and because of him and a dialysis nurse in Ohio, I had started a forum called Organ Donor .info .. but it was not well advertised and with a forum such as Living Donors Online there was no reason for me to keep it up anyway. Forums are better because they offer more security and are maintained.

I have decided to start up another forums for organ donor search but this time, with knowing there already is a good alternative out there to matchingdonors, my purpose is 2 fold. I want to not only offer a place for people to search for donors or advertise donors, but also want to be on top of looking up every member against a black list and taking out the spammers. Since I have seen many places where people advertise their need as well as potential donors advertise, yet no one is watching the spammers. I will be on top of the spamming issue once I start up the forum (this time not paying but it will be on a free forum on proboards).

What is my problem with matchingdonors?

Well, it is just my opinion and nothing substancial, but I don't like how matching donors costs $600 but I finally met a lady who is going through them and was honest with me about why she has been so satisfied with them so far. She posted on KidneySpace.com here: http://www.kidneyspace.com/index.php?topic=2609.0. Yes they are persistant for you to join but if you want a kidney really bad and have the money, it keeps you safe, you CAN block people, and you can choose who to accept and who you don't trust.

But as for myself, I personally still wasn't happy with matchingdonors but want to thank John Souza for the deal I was eventually offered:

Dear Angie;


Since you are a citizen of Canada I could not offer the plan offered by Direct Care Medicare Payment, but if you can afford 41.00 CAD a month I could place you on our sight on a monthly payment plan if you can afford it. If not please contact me at 1-781-821-2204x7 Mon- Fri EST and we can work other plan for you.


Yours truly,


John Souza

MatchingDonors.Com

Incase you are interested, here is a screenshot (picture) of their price listing at the time I was there:
http://kidneykorner.com/AK/forumimages/OrganRegistryFEE.gif

And this is what you get:
http://kidneykorner.com/AK/forumimages/MatchingDonorscom.gif

So at least they FINALLY worked with me but in the end I got "the call" anyway.

The cheaper option of 2 sites that keep you safe that help you find a living donor, I would say is Living Donors Online, because for THAT one you pay $0!

But even though a lady offered to me on Living Donors Online, I ended up turning her down for personal reasons. I just could not get past how I met a man in the states in WV who donated to a little girl (relative) and he was 100% healthy (doctors said they never saw someone so perfectly healthy, no problems what so ever) and then a year after donating is in and out of the ER with unexplained pain and illnesses. I could not accept a kidney from a living donor with that in my mind. I just was not able to in good conscience. Not saying that no one should, just that I was unable to bring myself to.

I ended up waiting from early early 2001 all the way to the end of Sept 2007 for a kidney. Mind you, this is my 2nd time around so I had a higher antibody count and I am a very popular blood type that any blood type can accept, so the wait is understandably long. But I didn't mind because I wasn't that sick. I mean, I got really terribly sick with infection in 2005 but that was caused by something else. But this year I am doing very well! I love having a kidney because now I can drink milk again (boy how I love milk) and I can have bananas again!! The side effects don't even seem as bad this time around! I don't know if it is because the transplant meds I am on this time are better than the ones I used to be on but this time is starting to be better finally (even though the first kidney worked so much better than this one it was the side effects I had an issue with).

So, in conclusion, if you do decide to go for a living donor but do not have anyone around you willing to donate or able to that would pass all tests and match, you can search for one, but be smart about it. Living Donors Online and MatchingDonors are 2 options you CAN take, but don't post your email publicly on blogs as it will not only get you real responses but also encourage spam and false email addresses that lead you into danger.

Be smart, Be safe.

** These have just been my thoughts. I am not a professional and this blog is just my opinion. You have every right to disagree with what I am saying by commenting below. Thank you.

- Angie

Please Help Me Reach My Kidney Walk Goal! (2009)

I'm participating in The Kidney Foundation of Canada's
Give the Gift of Life Walk Ontario 2009

Why do I walk?

I am walking for my kidney donor and for awareness and improvements in dialysis as well as walking for the friends I have lost to kidney disease these last few years.

Donate / Sponsor me for the Give the Gift of Life Walk!

Please support my campaign to help Canadians living with kidney disease by donating today! Your contribution will benefit The Kidney Foundation of Canada, the national volunteer organization committed to reducing the burden of kidney disease.

An estimated 2 million Canadians have kidney disease or are at risk while each day an average of 14 Canadians learn that their kidneys have failed.

In 2008…
• There were 4330 people on the waiting list for an organ transplant.
• 215 people died while waiting for an organ transplant.
• 303 people withdrew from the waiting list.
  (People are withdrawn from the waiting list when they become too sick to receive a transplant, opt out of the surgery, or their health improves.)
• 2083 trasplants took place. 1541 of those transplants were made possible because of deceased donors.

** All Statistics are from the Canadian Institute for Health Information - who, inturn, gets their information directly from the provincial medical bodies that coordinate transplant.

Secure online donations can be made with VISA, MasterCard and American Express. An electronic tax receipt will be sent to you by email within minutes of making your pledge.

You can make an online donation now. Click here to get started: http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=2254627

Since its creation in 1964, The Kidney Foundation has helped millions of Canadians suffering from kidney failure and related disorders such as hypertension, diabetes, urinary tract infections and kidney stones.

Today, the Foundation continues its focus on strategies to improve the organ donor rate in Canada. It is also exploring preventive approaches to detect chronic renal insufficiency at an early stage, delay its progression and prevent complications associated with the disease.

Please help Canadians living with kidney disease - donate now by clicking here: http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=2254627

Thank you for your generous support!

Angie Essery

Want to register yourself to walk?

More info on how to register yourself here!

and if you are in Windsor and want to walk with me this is the walk I will be walking:

Date: Sunday, September 13, 2009
Registration Time: 9:00 a.m.
Warm-Up Time: 9:45 a.m.
Walk Start Time: 10:00 a.m.
Route Length: approx. 5 km
Kidney Foundation Contact Information in Windsor: 519-977-9211 ext. 23

Want to buy shirts or a Green Bracelet to support awareness?

Check out the list of items here!

Canadian Kidney Connection (New as of April 2009!)

A new community just opened up in Canada with the hopes of bringing all the Provinces and Territories together instead of being separate in our own areas. This new community starts out in Sudbury but has already extended its reach out all across Canada reaching all the way to the West coast and the East Coast! Also has gotten the attention of other countries interested in raising awareness as well like Australia and the USA!

Come check out this new Canadian Kidney Connection!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=68965850985