Hey, Mister, Wanna Buy A Kidney? Hearts Now Two For The Price Of One!

Well, it’s been doing the rounds behind the scenes for a while, especially by Sally Satel over at the American Enterprise Institute (she apparently had the epiphany after a kidney transplant). The Brits are opening public debate on cash incentives for donated organs. Yeah, just what we need, placing a dollar amount not only on whole humans (as we routinely do with futile care) but now on human body parts. What’s the bet this will escalate into another nasty nightmare? What about the poor selling off various organs for financial gain? What about a black market in organs at rates that undercut “official process.” (This being the UK, I’ll bet there be a whole bureaucracy set up to regulate body part prices). Brave New World, indeed.

Cash incentives one idea under consultation for organ donation

The public is being asked for their views on how the number of organ donors can be increased ethically.

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics will be asking whether ideas such as cash incentives and payment of funeral expenses would encourage people to sign up to donate their organs. more