Kidney Transplant
A character needs a kidney, and finding a donor proves to be problematic.
Soap
Appearances
- Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman: Season 2, episode 187 (1977). Cathy has been experience bad pains in her side, and Dr. Fermin tells her that her kidneys are failing. She needs a transplant, and Mary is a perfect match, but she has run off with Dennis, so the gang has to find someone else.
- Barney Miller: Season 6, episode 3, "Vacation" (1979). Two brothers are arrested for fighting in a doctor's waiting room, and the detectives soon discover it's because one of them needs a kidney transplant, and the other doesn't want to donate his.
- Soap: Season 4, episode 11 (1981). Danny gets caught in the crossfire when criminals come after his new girlfriend, and both his kidneys are damaged. Only a blood relative can donate a kidney, and Mary's won't do. When Jodie volunteers, Mary has to confess that Danny has a different father.
- The Golden Girls: Season 1, episode 4, "Transplant" (1985). Blanche's sister, whom she's always hated, is dying from renal failure, and she asks Blanche for one of her kidneys, but Blanche isn't sure she wants to donate one.
- Dream On: Season 3, episode 6, "For Richard or for Poorer" (1992). Richard gets shot, and the bullet destroys his only kidney (he lost the other one when he was a medic in Vietnam and saved his whole battalion). Unfortunately, he has an extremely rare blood type, so the chances of finding a donor seem slim, but it turns out Martin has the same blood type, and he reluctantly gives Richard a kidney.
- The Simpsons: Season 10, episode 8, "Homer Simpson in: 'Kidney Trouble'" (1998). Grandpa needs a kidney, and Homer promises to give him his, but at the last minute, he chickens out and runs away. Eventually, the guilt gets to him, so he comes back, but as Dr. Hibbert is preparing the anesthesia, Homer chickens out again and runs out the window, where he gets hit by a car. While he's unconscious, Dr. Hibbert extracts his kidney and transplants it into Grandpa.
- Spin City: Season 3, episode 9, "The Kidney's All Right" (1998). In a competition to impress a sick boy in the hospital named Derek, the mayor accidentally promises to give Derek his kidney. Fortunately for the mayor, his blood's not a match for Derek's, but unfortunately for Mike, his blood is, so he feels pressured to donate his kidney to Derek.
- Malcolm in the Middle: Season 5, episode 13, "Lois's Sister" (2004). Lois's sister, Susan, comes to visit and lavishes the boys with gifts, and Lois is annoyed by her sudden generosity. When Susan goes out, Lois answers her cellphone and learns that Susan is in end stage renal failure and needs a kidney transplant right away, but she told her doctor that she's an only child because she doesn't want Lois's kidney.
- Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 5, episode 5, "Lewis Needs a Kidney" (2005). Richard Lewis needs a kidney, and Larry is reluctant to take a blood test to see if he's a match. When he finally agrees, Lewis is upset that it took him so long.