Interview with Robert Kornblum, Dr. Robert Metzger
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to move on to a story now that's gaining a lot of attention in the Midwest. Readers of the "St. Louis Jewish Light" found a very unusual ad in their paper about a month ago. It said simply, "If you would be willing to donate a life saving kidney, call me." Robert Kornblum is in dire need of a kidney. He's reaching out to the public for help. But his approach is causing some concern among transplant specialists. Robert Kornblum in St. Louis this morning. And from Orlando, Florida, Dr. Robert Metzger of the National Kidney Foundation. Welcome, gentlemen. Good to see both of you.</s>ROBERT KORNBLUM, ADVERTISED FOR DONOR: Good morning.</s>DR. ROBERT METZGER, NATIONAL KIDNEY FOUNDATION: Good morning, Paula.</s>ZAHN: So, Bob, tell me a little bit about what inspired you to run this ad?</s>KORNBLUM: Well, I've just been so ill and the process seemed to be so impersonal that I thought I'd begin to be a little proactive in the process. And my girlfriend and myself decided that we'd put an ad in one of the smaller papers here in town and advertise for a kidney. And, you know, it's not a very blatant ad. You know, it doesn't say need kidney, will die, you know, blah, blah, blah. But it says, you know, I don't know if you have the ad there, but it says, you know, it's tough to rely on the goodness of a stranger to save your life. And that's pretty much what I have to do, whether it's a live donor or a cadaver donor, you know. And I really wanted to make it a little more personal. And I placed the ad and I did get responses, legitimate responses from people. And one in particular, the first one that responded already was interviewed by the pre-transplant team and it was found she has a preexisting condition so cannot donate. And I'm just kind of going down the line with the other people who have responded. And Chris, my girlfriend, and I thought that it's really no different than standing up in front of a place of worship or a school and announcing that somebody needs an organ or a kidney. And at least here in St. Louis there's always bone marrow drives and things like that, you know, very public. And I just felt that it seemed like a tough way to go to wait for somebody to die to get an organ and it was a great chance to get to perhaps know a donor. I'm fortunate, I need a kidney, in that a person that's alive can actually give one of those up to me and still survive. And that was our thought process behind it.</s>ZAHN: So Dr. Metzger, what's wrong with that? And I think to put it into perspective, that everybody needs to understand that 10 people a day die waiting for organ transplants and 2,000 people a month add their names to a list waiting for donor organs. Don't you understand the desperation Bob feels here?</s>METZGER: Oh, I can understand it. I talk to patients every day about this, Paula. I think our concern is really about appealing to the emotions of people to commit to something that's potentially harmful to them. They really need to be objective about this. And whether it maintains the fairness of the system. Not everybody in St. Louis is going to get this opportunity that came to Mr. Kornblum through the "St. Louis Dispatch" article or even this exposure on TV. There are another 600 people waiting there who don't have this opportunity. But then life isn't fair, and I can sure understand why he's doing this.</s>ZAHN: But, Bob, you're not talking about a big expense here. What did you spend on these ads?</s>KORNBLUM: Well, the ads were, the two ads were about $124 and, you know, I'm hoping that if somebody cannot donate to me for whatever reason, if they are not a match to me, you know, blood type or tissue type, that they will continue to donate to somebody else. And like I said, it's just another avenue. Nobody here in town has come up to me and confronted me, telling me they aren't happy with this. And actually, most people who have called me and the doctors here in town have been kind of thumbs up. It's kind of a new idea and like I said, I am fortunate that I can advertise for an organ from a living donor that can continue to survive once they donate, whereas, you know, lungs, heart or liver may not be always to lucky.</s>ZAHN: But, Bob, what about the point that Dr. Metzger made that maybe these folks who have responded to your ad might not understand what they're up against here and how serious of an operation this would be if they end up being a donor match and giving you a kidney?</s>KORNBLUM: Well, you know, I've been joking with some people who call, telling them look, it's going to sound like I'm dissuading you from donating. But I'm pretty honest with the people when they do call. But most importantly, I set them up with the pre-transplant people. In other words, once they call me and I talk to them, I give them the number of the pre-transport people and they have to call there. They've got to make that effort to call. So once that occurs, it's up to the transplant team, the pre- transplant team to assess, you know, if they're valid donors or not. It's totally out of my hands. You know, it's not up to me to have them as a donor or not. It's up to the transplant team.</s>ZAHN: So, Dr. Metzger, what about that? I know that people are sensitive to the argument that you're making, not everybody can afford the $124 worth of ads. But ultimately if they're going to go through this operation, you're talking about tens and tens of thousands of dollars. Doesn't it sound like Bob is going through the right steps, particularly when it comes to making contact with folks that are volunteering to do this and trying to dissuade them and explain to them, you know, what kind of perils might lie ahead for them?</s>METZGER: Well, I mean I don't have any arguments over the process that will take place after a donor comes forward. And we're trying to encourage more stranger and good Samaritan donors throughout the country. We're trying to, though, to set this up so that both the donor and the recipient do this anonymously and they don't meet prior to the transplant. And that's in order to protect both sides from future entanglements, either financial or emotional, that could occur in the future. And all programs have steps to assure that the donor is completely informed about what they're doing and to evaluate them and make sure that they're medically suitable to donate and that the donor doesn't have any diseases that he could transmit to the recipient and that they know that they can be cared for in the future for some complications related to this. But the process needs to be very thoroughly explained to them.</s>ZAHN: Bob, we've just got about...</s>METZGER: I think the concern is still just about the advertising.</s>ZAHN: Sorry, doctor. OK, I think we understand that point. And, Bob, we've just got about five seconds left. What happens if you...</s>KORNBLUM: No problem, Paula.</s>ZAHN: What happens if you don't get this kidney?</s>KORNBLUM: I continue waiting for a cadaverous donor.</s>ZAHN: All right. Well, we will try...</s>METZGER: And, Paula, we need a lot more of those. Still 50 percent of the patients who could donate after death aren't doing it.</s>ZAHN: Well, that is a message that I hope the American public hears. And I know you've been encouraging people to, on your driver's license to give the authorization to donate organs. So we hope Americans will respond because lord knows there are tens of thousands of people in the same position as Bob is this morning.</s>METZGER: Absolutely.</s>ZAHN: Good luck to you, Bob.</s>KORNBLUM: Thank you so much.</s>METZGER: Good luck to you, too, Bob.</s>KORNBLUM: Hey, thank you, doctor.</s>ZAHN: We hope you're able to maintain a fair standard of living there. I know it's not easy for you. Dr. Metzger, thank you for dropping by. Appreciate it.