Sigrid Fry-Revere

I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.


I’m not sure what I was expecting when I agreed to read this book. This is the story of a woman from the west who ventures to Iran to check out their kidney donor system. Here in the U.S. if you need a kidney transplant you go on a waiting list, then dialysis and play the waiting game. If you are lucky enough you survive until someone dies that matches you, and you get their kidney. According to Sigrid Fry-Revere, Iran has a system that has a waiting list of people wanting to donate their kidney. According to the author, there are government incentives for this. Would this work in the United States? I’m not sure. I know this has been in the news lately and I’m not sure where I stand on the issue. Maybe that is because I don’t personally know anyone in that situation. However, this was an interesting read on this subject.… (lisätietoja)

One womans thought provoking journey of discovery.

Not long after finishing her doctorate in philosophy (specializing in patient-care ethics), the author discovered that her 10 month old son had kidney cancer, the kidney was removed, but she was warned his other kidney would have to be monitored, and he might eventually need a transplant. That knowledge has never been far from her mind...

Years later in 2007, she began studying the merits of compensated organ donation and she discovered that in Iran, unlike America, donors were compensated both by the state and also sometimes by the recipient. No one had explored firsthand the donor recipient situation in Iran, and despite very bias viewpoints and open opposition, she decided to journey there herself to determine the truth.

This book chronicles her incredible, potentially dangerous journey of discovery as she interviewed hundreds of donors and recipients throughout Iran, with the assistance of her companion Dr. Bastani, a native born Iranian, who translated for her and assisted in making sure protocols were carried out correctly. Through her we have the opportunity to discover some of the the reasons for donation, both personal, and ethical, and learn what the transplant really means to the recipient. The author also gives the reader, the opportunity to find out, through her visits to personal friends on dialysis in America, how they view their situation and what their lives are really like.

This research could have been stored somewhere gathering dust or taking up space on a computer drive somewhere, but instead this brave woman has decided to speak out, publishing her findings in an easy to understand way.

She takes an open look at the situation in both America and Iran, and admits there are flaws, in the Iranian policies but asks pertinent questions as to why thousands of Americans have to die waiting for a donor whilst the situation in Iran is so different.

Brutally honest, fascinating and heartbreaking at times, this book is thought provoking and gives someone, like myself, with no medical background, the opportunity to really understand the personal and ethical issues behind organ donation.… (lisätietoja)

I received an advance copy of this book from the author...and I am so pleased to have been chosen to read & review it.

Read this book. Seriously. Read this book.
My fellow bookworms know how stingy I am when it comes to handing out 5 star ratings to books I've read.
In order to receive a 5 star rating a book must make me care about the subject and intellectually stimulate me while also providing humorous moments.
I'm happy to say that The Kidney Sellers: A Journey of Discovery in Iran met all of my requirements to receive a 5 star rating.

I learned so much about so much by reading this book.
Prior to reading this book I knew little about Iran, little about the kidney donation shortage in the US & absolutely nothing at all about selling kidneys in Iran.
Now that I have read this book I understand much more about all three.

Prior to reading this book I had no idea the severity of the kidney donation shortage in the US.
Per Dr. Fry-Revere, "In the US, and average of 20 to 25 people die every day waiting for a kidney. Of the more than 100,000 waiting, only 15 percent get transplants, and over 30 percent of those will lose that kidney with the first five years."
Iran's shortage was erased within 15 years of legally allowing donors to sell their kidneys.
How can we not entertain the idea of reducing our eliminating the shortage in the US when there is such impressive evidence of a solution?

The cultural, historical & religious information provided about Iran in the book are very helpful in understanding how selling a kidney in Iran is viewed and allowed in religious and legal contexts.

The patience exercised & the risks taken by the author in order to research & examine the ethical complexities that surround this potential yet controversial solution to the kidney donation shortage are admirable & impressive.

I appreciated the author's forthrightness about the internal & external conflicts experienced on the research trip.
As a result, I felt at times as though I was having a conversation with the author because she addressed so many of the questions & concerns I had while reading the book.
Dr. Fry-Revere's ability to anticipate, address, and answer these questions and concerns is remarkable.

As I said at the beginning of my review...read this book.Seriously. Read this book.… (lisätietoja)