Should organ donors get paid? Most definitely, says Sally Satel, who believes that remedy would close "the enormous chasm between supply and demand," especially in the world of kidney donations. Satel writes about the issue for the Free Press, and she has her own experience to draw on as the recipient of not one but two kidney transplants over the years. In her case, she found willing donors within her own friendship and acquaintance circles. But for others, the search for a viable kidney isn't as streamlined, as potential donors may hedge at the risks, time off work to recover, etc., since paying for their efforts has been illegal in the US since 1984. Incentivizing the donation process with cash could help get possible donors over the hump, she writes. Besides, Satel adds, we already pay for donations of "products of the body," including sperm, blood plasma, bone marrow, and breast milk.
Satel concedes some big problems in paying people for their organs—most notably, that only the rich could then afford such lifesaving procedures, and that the sway of cash could entice "financially desperate" people to donate without being completely educated on what the process might entail. But she notes that new legislation could help remedy those concerns: The recently introduced End Kidney Deaths Act would offer living kidney donors a refundable tax credit worth up to $50,000 spread over five years, which would include informed-consent requirements. Sponsors expect the act will help save 100,000 Americans on the kidney waiting list. "Altruism is a magnificent virtue," Satel writes. "I was twice its beneficiary. But we can't rely on the small number of earthbound saints willing to save a life. Not with almost 91,000 people awaiting a kidney." More here. (More organ donor stories.)
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