Paying Organ Donors: End of Altruism?
News reports that Steve Jobs received a liver transplant in Tennessee included widespread speculation that the Apple CEO had— as The Boston Globe put it — “somehow gamed the organ donation system in order to jump to the head of the waiting list.”
While no report offered any proof that Jobs had acted improperly, the old question about access prompted a new question about altruism: with too-few organs available for too many patients, is it time to pay organ donors for selling their valuable body parts legally on the open market?
In the U.S., the sale of transplant organs is illegal, meaning that an organ needed to save a life can only be used if it was donated for free. On the thriving organ black market however, a liver costs $10,000, and a kidney—the most sought-after organ—goes for $30,000. Proponents of organ-selling say that with 80,000 Americans on kidney waiting lists alone, and 13 dying each day, it’s time to stop expecting donors to act solely for altruistic reasons.
“The surgeon who performed Jobs’s liver transplant, the hepatologist who diagnosed him, the anesthesiologist who managed his pain, the nurse…the pharmacy…even the driver who brought him to the hospital…were paid,” noted a Globe editorial. “Only the organ donor (or the donor’s family, if the liver came from a cadaver) could receive nothing except the satisfaction that comes from performing an act of kindness.”
“Women Sell Their Eggs, So Why Not a Kidney?” asked the headline of a news story that listed proposed organ donor incentives, including health and life insurance, tax credits, and contributions to the donor’s charity of choice.
“I’m on the fence, I have to say. I’m really torn about this,” said a bioethics professor who worries that even a legal organ-selling system might increase exploitation since most donors come from desperately poor countries and may be choosing between keeping their kidneys or feeding their families.
But a Yale psychiatrist who received a donated kidney several years ago, summed up by saying “we don’t think firemen are any less heroic because they are paid to save us.”
Tell us what you think: Should organ donors become organ sellers? What effect would legal organ selling have on altruism and doing the right thing? Is the satisfaction that comes from doing the right thing ever “payment” enough?
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Transplant ethics
My brother was fortunate in1996 to have been given a liver which restored his life.
His liver failure was due to being hit be a drunk driver and being given blood tainted with Hep C. He was an emergency room nurse with a new bride and a
full life in front of him. He could never have paid for a liver as the Hep C prior to his accident destroyed his liver and made him too ill to work.
He can no longer perform as a nurse. Has never had a child, but he works and has a life, albeit not the life he would have chosen.
My moral of the story is we cannot charge for organs, if we do only the
wealthy will get them. To tell ourselves anything else is a delusion.
Lucille Beyer | 3 months ago
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buying body parts
i just feel sorry for people that can’t afford to buy a body part, but i would be willing to sell one.
david lewis | 3 months ago
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Selling Organ's
Sir/Miss:
There Are So Many People Dying,But Not All Believe In Being An Organ Donor.
I Would Like To Enjoy Some Thing’s Now While I Am Alive.But,I Don’t Have The Money.So,If I Could Sell Some Of My Organ’s Now,“I Would For Two Reason’s”!
One They Would Help Someone To Have A Longer And Maybe Better Life Than I Have Had.
Two It Would Give Me The Money To Enjoy Some Thing’s Now Before I Die.
John Smith | 2 months, 4 weeks ago
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what about those that cannot afford to pay
I have read this article and some of the replies. I understand that those donating would like to be compensated, but as a mother of a 25-year old son on the waiting list my next question is that most people awaiting transplant cannot afford to pay for the donation, they can barely afford the cost of medical treatment. An average month of dialysis is approximately $70,000 for my son, based on insurance EOB. He has Medicare in place and has Medicaid because of his age. Yet, our family pays many expenses on our own. He has a special diet, and cannot eat at most resteraunts nor can we fix many packaged ready to go meals for him, as they are simply too toxic for the body of those on dialysis. Private insurance or MEdicare will pay all medical needs for the donor, although they will be off work for approximately six weeks. WE are going to address this with fundraisers in our church and neighborhood,, is that enough for the donor. THis is a gift of life and I for one, who would donate my kidney but it is not a match for him, would donate my kidney whether I got paid for time off work or not. I will donate my kidney to anyone that it would help. What happened to the world where we helped our fellow man, why does everything have to have compensation. It amazes me that many think everything has a price on it. What I see at my church is many people ready to be tested, and only my son has met them. I don’t even know some of these people because of the size of our congregation. Oh well, that’s what happens to a society that is trying to get rid of God and prayer, I suppose.
Joyce Weatherford | 2 months, 4 weeks ago
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ORGAN DONATION
I AM SO BROKE I DON’T WANT TO LOSE MY HOUSE
LUCYMARIELAKES | 2 months, 3 weeks ago
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Why selling organs legally on the open market shou
Likewise as many commenting, I am an organ recipient. The woman who gave me one of her kidneys was simply being Altruistic. I say woman because I like anyone waiting for a kidney know that the waitlist can be 5 years. I put an add in my local paper and she answered the add. As did about 25 other people who wanted to make a difference is someone else’s life. She said she wanted to help save a life while she was still alive and could see the benefit of her gift of life.
No matter what side of the political fence you stand, no one can argue that in the US, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. So comparing women selling eggs to organ selling is silly. Do women making $30,000/year make enough money to buy other women’s eggs or organs? The answer is no. Saying the firemen save our lives and we pay them is also not exactly true. Many firemen are volunteer fire fighters.
People who don’t make enough money could not afford to purchase an organ. I agree that the people who can afford would help cut the number of deaths, but again what about the many, many thousands of people who can not afford to purchase an organ?
If the people who could afford to purchase an organ did so, but did not get to put their names on the waitlist, that might be part of a solution. Keeping the waitlist for people who could not afford to purchase an organ would keep it fair. The number of people who needed an organ would be divided into different groups so it would lessen the number of organs needed per each list…the paying list and the non paying list.
Susan Markgraf | 2 months, 3 weeks ago
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Ms.(widow)
I am 86 years young-in good health-interested in more details for donating-
I have always taken excellent care of my body-diet etc.
Please email me detailed info-
Thank You,
Laura H Gray
Laura H. Gray | 2 months, 2 weeks ago
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MS.
With the economy being what it is and jobs being scarce, why not be able to sell an organ if you want. I am in the process of having to give up my home and would be glad to sell a kidney. It should be a personal choice and not mandated by laws.
CherriAN | 2 months, 1 week ago
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64055 S Crysler Independence, mo 64055 - 35833 358
Randy SMith
64055 S Crysler
Independence, mo 64055 35833
358-2638
Randy P. SMith | 2 months ago
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if two people can help each other why not
my father passed away when i was twelve he was on a waiting list and did not get his organ donation before he died,if my kidney could be donated to save a life i would and that person could donate something to me i dont see anything wrong with it
joseph j | 1 month, 3 weeks ago
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