--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Altruism became the sole legitimate…" description: "\"Altruism became the sole legitimate motivation for giving a kidney. And it is a partial - I say a partial failure.\" — Sally Satel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b7/sally-satel-64180_altruism_altruism-became-the-sole-legitimate-moti_2227989.jpg" --- # Altruism became the sole legitimate motivation for giving… ![“Altruism became the sole legitimate motivation for giving a kidney. And it is a partial - I say a partial failure.” quote by Sally Satel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b7/sally-satel-64180_altruism_altruism-became-the-sole-legitimate-moti_2227989.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b7/sally-satel-64180_altruism_altruism-became-the-sole-legitimate-moti_2227989.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b7/sally-satel-64180_altruism_altruism-became-the-sole-legitimate-moti_2227989.jpg) > “Altruism became the sole legitimate motivation for giving a kidney. And it is a partial - I say a partial failure.” [Sally Satel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-satel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Altruistic motives for kidney donation are noble but incomplete; other factors matter. **In simple terms:** Altruism alone isn’t enough. Key Takeaway Consider broader ethical implications. Themes ethics medicine altruism Mood critical analytical Type philosophical policy When to use this quote - organ donation policies - patient counseling - public health campaigns Key Concepts bioethics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What other motivations should be recognized? - How can policies reflect complex motives? A Different Perspective Pure altruism may overlook systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Altruism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altruism/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Generosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) ## Related quotes > [“God's love is our greatest anchor and motivation for giving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-arthur/god-s-love-is-our-greatest-anchor-and-motivation-for-giving/) [John Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-arthur/) > [Ryan is an amazing person. When I was his age, I wasn't thinking about giving someone a kidney. How do you ever repay someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grizz-chapman/ryan-is-an-amazing-person-when-i-was-his-age-i-wasn-t-thinking-about/) [Grizz Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grizz-chapman/) > [“Listen to me. I can live without a kidney. I can live without football. I can live without a lot of things. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-leighton/listen-to-me-i-can-live-without-a-kidney-i-can-live-without-football/) [M. Leighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-leighton/) > [Twelve people die every day because there aren't enough kidneys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-satel/twelve-people-die-every-day-because-there-aren-t-enough-kidneys/) [Sally Satel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-satel/) > [I am in favor of an idea that's been around for a number of years, which is to reward people who are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-satel/i-am-in-favor-of-an-idea-that-s-been-around-for-a-number-of-years/) [Sally Satel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-satel/) > [When we have laws that compartmentalize medical information, and when we have paper systems that compartmentalize medical information, you sometimes have a doctor who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/when-we-have-laws-that-compartmentalize-medical-information-and-when/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [My only grudge against nature was that I could not turn my Lolita inside out and apply voracious lips to her young matrix, her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/my-only-grudge-against-nature-was-that-i-could-not-turn-my-lolita/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [As most doctors will tell you, cleansing is ridiculous. You know what's been around longer than that state-of-the-art juicer? Your kidneys. And your liver.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/as-most-doctors-will-tell-you-cleansing-is-ridiculous-you-know-what-s/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [Elsewhere the paper notes that vegetarians and vegans (including athletes) 'meet and exceed requirements' for protein. And, to render the whole we-should-worry-about-getting-enough-protein-and-therefore-eat-meat idea even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/elsewhere-the-paper-notes-that-vegetarians-and-vegans-including/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [By all means, there should be no children when either mother or father suffers from such diseases as tuberculosis, gonorrhea, syphilis, cancer, epilepsy, insanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/by-all-means-there-should-be-no-children-when-either-mother-or-father/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [The scent organ was playing a delightfully refreshing Herbal Capriccio - rippling arpeggios of thyme and lavender, of rosemary, basil, myrtle, tarragon; a series…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-scent-organ-was-playing-a-delightfully-refreshing-herbal/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [How are you?" "Perfectly fine," he said. "Are your ribs broken?" "Probably not. Cracked at most. We fought very carefully." "Did this settle anything?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/how-are-you-perfectly-fine-he-said-are-your-ribs-broken-probably-not/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [When my son got sick and he was in the hospital, and they took out his kidney when he was less than a year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-feldmann/when-my-son-got-sick-and-he-was-in-the-hospital-and-they-took-out-his/) [John Feldmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-feldmann/) > [The brain is a tissue. It is a complicated, intricately woven tissue, like nothing else we know of in the universe, but it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-hubel/the-brain-is-a-tissue-it-is-a-complicated-intricately-woven-tissue/) David H. Hubel > [Not wanting to give everyone in your life one of your kidneys is not the same thing as hoping they die of kidney failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mallory-ortberg/not-wanting-to-give-everyone-in-your-life-one-of-your-kidneys-is-not/) [Mallory Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mallory-ortberg/) ## More by Sally Satel > [I am in favor of an idea that's been around for a number of years, which is to reward people who are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-satel/i-am-in-favor-of-an-idea-that-s-been-around-for-a-number-of-years/) [Sally Satel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-satel/) > [Very few politicians in Washington really represent the interests of many people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-satel/very-few-politicians-in-washington-really-represent-the-interests-of/) [Sally Satel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-satel/) > [Twelve people die every day because there aren't enough kidneys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-satel/twelve-people-die-every-day-because-there-aren-t-enough-kidneys/) [Sally Satel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-satel/) > [I am not in favor of a traditional free market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-satel/i-am-not-in-favor-of-a-traditional-free-market/) [Sally Satel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-satel/) [Explore all 5 Sally Satel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-satel/) ## More Altruism quotes > [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“Some of our friends are our friends only because we used to be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-our-friends-are-our-friends-only-because-we-used-to-be-friends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“...True classical dropouts in society are those who avoid difficult challenges and cling to the first opportunity that comes their way. They never test…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/true-classical-dropouts-in-society-are-those-who-avoid-difficult/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [“Take a stand that reflects the widest horizons of your soul if you don’t want to be a slave to external powers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/take-a-stand-that-reflects-the-widest-horizons-of-your-soul-if-you/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [One of the great issues in biology is the origin of altruism - of why you would do something for someone else that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/one-of-the-great-issues-in-biology-is-the-origin-of-altruism-of-why/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/how-selfish-soever-man-may-be-supposed-there-are-evidently-some/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Restoration ecology is experimental science, a science of love and altruism. In its attempts to reverse the processes of ecosystem degradation it runs exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-mills/restoration-ecology-is-experimental-science-a-science-of-love-and/) [Stephanie Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-mills/) > [“...of all the nonsense that twists the world, the concept of 'altruism' is the worst. People do what they want to do, every time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/of-all-the-nonsense-that-twists-the-world-the-concept-of-altruism-is/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Only a fool would find happiness from an achievement that is detrimental to those he loves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/only-a-fool-would-find-happiness-from-an-achievement-that-is/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [Never insult an alligator until after you have crossed the river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordell-hull/never-insult-an-alligator-until-after-you-have-crossed-the-river/) [Cordell Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordell-hull/) > [“…the purpose of life is to nurture joy, which involves those aspects of humanity that enrich the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-nurture-joy-which-involves-those-aspects-of/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [“Whatever they say about it, but being altruistic is not so simple for everyone. Not to look and sound like despotism, altruism must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-biyuts/whatever-they-say-about-it-but-being-altruistic-is-not-so-simple-for/) [Lara Biyuts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-biyuts/) > [Effective altruism is the form of altruism in which we bring our rational capacities to bear in order to do the most good that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/effective-altruism-is-the-form-of-altruism-in-which-we-bring-our/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“Societies and people that come close to being happy are those that do well in narrowing the disparity between their desires and their needs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/societies-and-people-that-come-close-to-being-happy-are-those-that-do/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [“Most of the truly kind people of this world show some measure of discomfort when offered kindness. Their gratitude stems not only from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/most-of-the-truly-kind-people-of-this-world-show-some-measure-of/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) [Browse all 419 Altruism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altruism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Altruism became the sole legitimate motivation for giving a kidney. 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