Altruistic donation: a kidney for a stranger
Petra and Cees both donated a kidney to someone they don't know. They wanted to do something good for a seriously ill patient.
19 maart 2026
‘Altruistic donation… I didn't know that word,’ says Petra. ‘It means you do something without wanting anything in return. Cees and I had our own business for years and we always worked hard. When we stopped, I wanted to do something good for others. In the newspaper, I read an interview with doctor Marcel Levi, who used to be the director of the AMC, the current Amsterdam UMC. He had given away a kidney without knowing to whom. I thought it was beautiful that you don't have to know the recipient. Then I thought: if he can do this, why can't I? That gave me the final push.’
A whole family happy
Seven years ago, Petra went to her GP with her question. After that, she ended up at the AMC. ‘I was called in quickly for the surgery. Afterwards, the doctor said: you have made a whole family happy. Because if one person is sick, the whole family has a hard time. I was relieved that everything went well. Otherwise, it would have been a waste of my kidney.’ Petra was 70 when she donated. ‘That age was not a problem. I have never been sick. So you can still help someone at an older age.’
A lot of trust
Two years later, Cees also went to the GP. He wanted to do the same. ‘The GP was hesitant because I was 79. But I was in perfect health. Our GP was just retiring. The new GP thought it was a good idea immediately. After that, everything went quickly. We have a lot of trust in medical care and dared to go through with it. Eventually, I also altruistically donated a kidney. Neither Petra nor I had any problems, only the night after the surgery. We were also allowed to go home quickly.’
Living with one kidney
They are very satisfied with the care. Petra: ‘We were guided very well. And everything was better than expected. I already had a scar on my abdomen and they used that for the surgery. I thought that was special. Nice that they thought of that.’ Cees adds: ‘Because of my age, I am checked every year. Everything is always fine. You can live perfectly well with one kidney. I even had cancer, but the treatment could just continue.’
Safe
Not many people know that Petra and Cees donated a kidney. Cees: ‘It is difficult to talk about it, because we don't want to brag. But we do think it is important that more people think about this. Every year, almost 200 kidney patients die due to a shortage of donors. We have friends who also wanted to donate, but they were rejected for medical reasons. That is a pity, but it does show how safe the process is: it only happens if the donor is truly healthy. And it is nice that it is possible. That was different in the past.’ Petra nods. ‘In my home village, I had an uncle who died of kidney disease at 48. Much too young. Back then, donation didn't exist yet. I still think about that often.’
