WBIR Channel 10 (Knoxville, TN) television news reports:
In October a Bradley County man said he donated a kidney to a Colorado man he met online. Ever since, people have been questioning his motives and accusing him of selling his kidney.
Tuesday, he came to Knoxville to clear his name once and for all. Robert Smitty went to a former FBI special agent and took a lie detector test.
He says he wants everybody to know the real reason he donated his kidney to someone he did not even know.
“I thought that it would just be good for me, my self esteem, doing something good to help other people,” said Robert Smitty.
When Robert Smitty became interested in organ donation, he went online to research it and found a website that matches donors with people who need transplants. That is how he met Bob Hickey.
“We talked, we had a couple of phone conversations, and he liked me, I liked him, pretty much it,” said Smitty.
In October Smitty flew to Denver for the surgery. Once it was over, the questions started. Why did he do it? And was he paid?
“I was tempted with that in the early stages. I admit that financial temptation existed,” said Smitty.
Smitty says he was only reimbursed for his medical and travel expenses, and he is determined to prove it. So, he called the former head of the FBI’s polygraph program to take a lie detector test.
“I feel like with my background, qualifications, education and so forth it’s certainly 95% to 97% accurate,” said Ken Shull of Expert Polygraph Services & Private Investigations.
Shull asked Smitty whether he was paid for his kidney and if he broke the law.
“My preliminary results today are that he did pass the test, and he showed no deception when he answered no to those two questions,” said Shull.
“I’ve never been able to save a life or contribute to the saving of lives, and you can’t buy that, no price,” said Smitty.
If someone wants to donate an organ, even to a stranger, Smitty says they should not be criticized; they should be encouraged.
“It’s wrong to say everybody’s bad. It’s wrong to say everybody wants money, and there’s no one out there who will help a patient who’s dying. That’s wrong, there’s good people out there. I’m glad today I can say I’m one of them,” said Smitty.
There is another reason Smitty wanted to take the polygraph. He was recently featured on a cable television show that gives lie detector tests. On the show, Smitty failed it. He says the questions were too broad. Smitty admits he was offered money online for his kidney, but he insists that he never took any.
This news report may be viewed as a Windows Media Player file here. For discussion of PAX TV’s “Lie Detector” show, see the AntiPolygraph.org message board thread, “Lie Detector” TV Show w/Rolonda Watts & Ed Gelb.