Any one ever heard of this person?

[TiffanyJean]

Ok so I checked my email today and had gotten this email:

Hello, my name is Dana.
If you could check my webpage: geocities.com/ifo_ltd and contact me then maybe I could help you finding a donor pretty quickly!
 
Wish you the best,
 
Dana M. Stevenson.



Her website basically says that if you contact her and it looks like pay her she somehow finds a donor.

Just wondering if anyone has ever heard of this person or someone else doing something like this?

We do need a donor - and I know my MIL would definitely try just about anything - but before I tell her, I wanted to check with you guys first... I'm always wary of donor scams.

  Tiffany Jean

[monrein]

I'd forget about it TJ.  These people are usually charlatans and scam artists involved in transplant tourism.  Just my  but we've had them on IHD before and in fact one guy was recently arrested for luring people to the Phillipines with false promises and taking their money of course.

[TiffanyJean]

I'd forget about it TJ.  These people are usually charlatans and scam artists involved in transplant tourism.  Just my  but we've had them on IHD before and in fact one guy was recently arrested for luring people to the Phillipines with false promises and taking their money of course.

Thanks Monrein,
I figured that's what the deal was, but when it comes to finding a donor for an O kidney, I always want to believe that it will help. But I've learned to look at every detail. i knew that you guys would have an idea about this sort of thing.

Thanks

Tiffany Jean

[kellyt]

Could you forward her email to the autorities somehow?  Maybe the National Kidney Foundation?  That just makes me angry!
I have scammers!

[okarol]

The website says:
While the donation itslef is not being paid upon the process of finding a livng donor will bring expenses to the recipient!

Yes - they misspelled itself and living - so obviously not a lot of attention to detail.

You do not have to pay to find a donor (unless you join MatchingDonors.com which has become pretty mainstream.)

I would be very wary of this - never heard of Dana M. Stevenson before. I googled the website and the email address and got nothing.

[monrein]

The English phrasing also sounds highly suspect.

[TiffanyJean]

It's so sad that there are people out there that prey on people who are looking for donors. Last year when we first learned of Richie's illness and were first looking for donors, the first three family members were not going to work, so I had put a listing on craigslist; I expect people to ask for money from there. But that they emailed me- I was shocked!

Either way I've already deleted the email. No sense in wasting my and my families time.

Thanks all for the help, on this one.

TJ

[daybyday]

What is the deal with MatchingDonors.com? Is it a legitimate site? It seems years ago I filled out a lot of info online for them, then at the very end it required a sum of money I definitely do not have, but not sure if I am remembering correctly...

[Stacy Without An E]

I've received e-mail's with poor grammar and misspelled words in my e-mail box connected with my blog.  I just delete them and move on, but as others suggested, they should be referred to authorities.

There's a special basement in Hell for people who offer false hope to those with chronic illnesses.

[okarol]

What is the deal with MatchingDonors.com? Is it a legitimate site? It seems years ago I filled out a lot of info online for them, then at the very end it required a sum of money I definitely do not have, but not sure if I am remembering correctly...

The info below is from their website. They charge a fee, which is controversial, but it has become more accepted in the last couple of years.

About MatchingDonors.com

MatchingDonors is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization supported by memberships,advertisements and donations.

Mission Statement: MatchingDonors.com is a web site created to give people in need of transplant surgery an active way to search for a live organ donor. Our goal is to increase the number of transplant surgeries and improve awareness of live organ donation. The most common organs transplanted from a live donor are single kidney and liver lobes.

MatchingDonors.com was co-founded in 2004 by Mr. Paul Dooley and Dr. Jeremiah Lowney. Mr. Dooley from Canton, MA met with his Internist, Dr. Lowney from Boston, MA. and related a story about his father who was told that although he was very ill from cancer and was told he would be in need of a new kidney soon he would not be placed on the national transplantation waiting list. The reason was because the list was so long that by the time a kidney would become available Mr. Dooley’s father would not still be alive. Obviously this was troubling. Mr. Dooley also the founder an award winning Internet jobboard called CollegeJobBoard.com. He asked Dr. Lowney if a web site matching potential live organ donors to people in need of organ transplant would help the problem of organ shortage. Both men decided to research the issue and found a National Kidney Foundation survey of 1,000 people, which were asked if they would consider live organ donation to a complete stranger. To their surprise, 25% said they would consider the donation. The co-founders then got to work to create the web site.

The problem: In 1993 there were 31,000 people on the national organ transplant waiting list. In 2005 there are 90,000 people. There are approximately 17 people a day dying while waiting on the list. Although live organ donation has been performed successfully since 1954 there are only six to seven thousand live organ donations per year. Most of the transplanted organs at this time are from cadavers, which become available at a minutes notice to the potential recipient. The newly harvested organ is distributed through United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) who maintains the national waiting list under contract from the federal government. UNOS also attempts to increase organ donation awareness. Unfortunately, organ donation has been stagnant over the years and there is a severe shortage of available cadaver organs.

One answer: With our growing list of potential live organ donors signing on to MatchingDonors.com it is becoming increasingly clear that there are thousands of wonderful, altruistic and compassionate people willing to help a fellow human being. It is our belief that many of the potential donors would have never considered live organ donation if it wasn’t for the increased awareness due to our site. MatchingDonors.com augments the current failing system by allowing people in need of organ transplantation the ability to search for potential altruistic live organ donors over the World Wide Web. A potential recipient places his or her profile on the web site and can then review email of potential donors interested in helping. The profile can consist of any information the patient feels comfortable sharing with viewers. Typically the profile states the patient’s personal history, current situation, blood type and whether they can travel. It is up to the patient to provide their profile and the staff at MatchingDonors.com can assist them if they wish. Once a patient is contacted they may ask the potential donor to contact the transplant hospital coordinated in charge of the patients care. A test kit can then be provided to the potential donor for blood sampling at their local lab. This begins the process of finding a match. The patient’s insurance provider pays for all the pre-operative testing. MatchingDonors.com can also send press releases to organizations and newsletters, which patients may request. MatchingDonors.com suggests a patient fee to place their profile on the web site. The fee is waived if the patients are unable to afford the cost.

Once a match is made the rules and regulations required for a live organ donation apply. MatchingDonors.com is interested in helping develop the match. The transplant protocol is the same for a match made through our web site as it is for any other live organ match. The organ donor is made aware through multiple postings on MatchingDonors.com that financial benefit for their donation is illegal in the United States.

Although it is not required, MatchingDonors.com request that patients provide statistical data to us for record keeping. This data includes the number of email inquiries, potential matches, patient’s tested, successful matches and surgeries performed. They may also provide any personal notes they wish to add.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Based in Canton, Massachusetts., MatchingDonors.com is a company with technical, matching facilitators, editorial and administrative people based throughout the United States.

MatchingDonors.com Medical Director Dr. Jeremiah Lowney is available for interviews from the press and to answer questions from patients, donors and doctors.

http://matchingdonors.com/life/index.cfm?page=main&frm=about