Following on this post from a couple of months ago on Virginia Postrel‘s donation of a kidney to a friend, don’t miss Virginia’s inspiring Texas Monthly ($) article on the experience.
Interestingly, the most important part of Virginia’s successful donation was her stubborness in going through with it:

Most important, it turned out, I had the right personality. Donating a kidney isnít, in fact, a matter of just showing up. You have to be pushy. Unless youíre absolutely determined, youíll give up, and nobody will blame youóexcept, of course, the person who needs a kidney. When I went to see my Dallas doctor for preliminary tests, the first thing she said was ìYou know, you can change your mind.î
To me, giving Sally a kidney was a practical, straightforward solution to a serious problem. It was important to her but not really a big deal to me. Until the surgery was scheduledófor Saturday, March 4óand I started telling people about it, I had no idea just how weird I was.
Normal people, I found, have a visceralópun definitely intendedóreaction to the idea of donating an organ. Theyíre revolted. They identify entirely with the donor but not at all with the recipient. They donít compare kidney donation to other risky behavior, like flying a plane or running 31 miles to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back, as my brother did last summer.

What a gal!