A tiny religious group based in Australia has been advising its members to donate their kidneys to strangers, reports the Wall Street Journal. Founded by an American, David McKay, in 1982, the Jesus Christians describe themselves as "a live-by-faith, work-for-God-not-money Christian community". Its members distribute Bible-based comics and other tracts, including a novel by Mr McKay on the end times, and do voluntary work. One of their charitable assignments is donating kidneys; "[we] are prepared to do outrageous things to express our love for God and others," says McKay. Because about two-thirds of the group's 30 members have donated kidneys, it has been dubbed "the kidney cult" by the media.

The WSJ narrates an attempt by a Sydney man, Ashwyn Falkingham, to donate a kidney to a woman, Sandi Sabloff, in Toronto. Under pressure from Falkingham's parents, Toronto General Hospital eventually refused, saying that his motivation was not altruism, but a desire for publicity. Falkingham and Sabloff are now looking for a hospital in the US which will do the transplant. Hospitals are normally wary of organ donations from strangers, as altruism has often been a cover for secret compensation. Anonymous donors can also be psychologically disturbed or unrealistic or they can back out at the last minute. ~ WSJ, Dec 13; ABC (Australia), Jun 4