The Wall Street Journal set out to explore some of the more complex dynamics of living donation, and some of its controversial potential. Meckler spends eight months with one family to see how a 25-year-old son dealt with the toughest decision of his life: whether to give half his liver to a father who, he felt, might not deserve it. The stories at the potential of kidney swaps, a new solution for people who have willing but medically incompatible donors. Meckler profiled a surgeon with a radical idea: paying people to give a kidney. And she explored the world of the Jesus Christians, a small religious group whose members are committed to live kidney donation but who may be acting under the influence of a dangerous cult.
Judges’ Comments: The anchor of Laura Meckler’s pieces about organ donation was a deeply reported and deeply felt account of a son’s wrenching decision to donate part of his liver to his ailing father. By breathing new life into the familiar subject of organ donation, Meckler’s pieces raised awareness and helped put new donor protections in place.
Read “Peril and Potential of Living Organ Donation” by Laura Meckler.