[kyleslattery]

Sure, it may be focused on saving him, but that doesn't mean that what he's doing isn't good for other people too. Getting potential donors (especially in an under-represented group) to sign up for the bone marrow registry is a all around good thing, who cares if they're doing it because Amit got them to? They might end up being able to save someone else's life.

[sundarurfriend]

I guess HN doesn't have much experience dealing with trolls. Copy-pasta replies, repetitiveness, lack of rational argument and the _need_ to be contra-norm all point that way. Please, let's stop feeding this and letting it take up half the comment space on this.

[0x12]

I fear that he's not actually trolling.

[sundarurfriend]

Yeah, it appeared like trolling only until he replied to your comment above. That seems to be the first thread he's attempted to apply some logic here.

[AndrewMoffat]

I'm not sure what part of my comment you're addressing. The only real point I made was that his plight was shameless. I understand if saying that makes people upset, but it doesn't make it less true.

[michaels0620]

And repeating it doesn't make it any more true. In what sense his is plea for help shameless? Should he simply sit back, do nothing, and hope something works out? It's not like he is taking from others for his own benefit. Indeed as others have pointed out, it's likely that his campaign has benefited others, not only himself.

[AndrewMoffat]

I did not say it does not benefit anyone else. I just said it was shameless.

shameless: 2. done without shame; without decency or modesty

modesty: 1. having or showing a moderate or humble estimate of one's merits, importance, etc.;

[iron_ball]

In what philosophical framework does modesty or even decency come before preservation of one's own life? This isn't Breaking Bad -- making a website and asking for help is pretty well unimpeachable IMO.

[AndrewMoffat]

He's not morally wrong, I'm saying the nature of what he's doing is shameless. Clearly this is an important issue to him, but he's vastly overestimating his importance to everyone else. If every person with a need had a poster plastered around the city with their name on it, every city would be covered from sidewalk to rooftop. I'm just calling it like I see it.

[erikpukinskis]

he's vastly overestimating his importance to everyone else

I think you're vastly underestimating the number of people in the startup community to who he's very important. He's not Steve Jobs, but he's someone a lot of us care about.

[baltcode]

As I understand it, this will also help other people. Since the more people who join the registry or donate to it, the higher the chance that some other patient will find a match. If it takes some people plastering the web, so be it. In fact everyone, not just South Asians, should can use this opportunity to get on the registry.

[palish]

Could we all just agree to disagree and leave it at that...?

[azernik]

Not many people have a need for several hours of your time which will literally save their life. Just saying, everyone has needs, but the number of people with needs this urgent is very low (tens of thousands in the US, maybe?).

In any case, take a look at the marrow match site that Amit links; it requires people who send in swabs to commit to donating to any patient that matches, not just Amit. This is probably going to help a lot of people besides just him.

[mcantor]

> He's not morally wrong, I'm saying the nature of what he's doing is shameless.

So...?

[suhastech]

If whatever you are doing works out for you, it would be cool to see the point you are trying to make by commenting on other peoples' life-threatening needs shamelessly.

I did not say that you are cynical. I just said you are shameless.

[gks]

Life and Death.

At what point do you admit to yourself you love your life and want to continue to live?

At that point, that's when shamelessness and modesty are thrown on the window and you do what you can to try to survive.