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Netherlands fact of the day
Some 12,000 more people have registered as organ donors in the Netherlands since a Dutch TV hoax that featured a "competition" for a kidney.
The Big Donor Show was revealed to be a hoax as the fake donor was apparently about to reveal her choice of patient.
But Dutch media say the number of people registering as organ donors has jumped since the hoax. The usual monthly figure is just 3-4,000.
Will this greater interest in organ donation last? Here is the link and story.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on July 20, 2007 at 06:50 AM in Medicine | Permalink
Comments
We need global organ markets and we need them now, in my opinion. At the least organ markets here in the USA. It's ridiculous that people are dying both #1 because they can't buy kidneys, and #2 because their parents or spouses can't afford to pay for an expensive treatment not covered by their health insurance. Legalize organ markets and both #1 and #2 are solved for a number of people, with no cost that I can see to anyone else.
Posted by: Hopefully Anonymous at Jul 20, 2007 7:39:18 AM
If you opened a market the headlines would be:"Most vendors are afroamericans or illegal inmigrants".Then you will have a Moore`s movie" Livestock" about how the USA are breeding people as providers of organs.There is no way to create a global market since most countries in the world are anti market biased.The Church will oppose it togheter with the left.Once again you would have the left and the fundamentalist right in the same side .
Posted by: JEAN at Jul 20, 2007 2:32:37 PM
If markets are opened, it will start by allowing the direct payments to the estates of deceased donors. I really don't understand why we are reluctant to do this now. How moral is it to prevent such a market from opening, and allowing so many to die while waiting for organs.
Of course, the other option is force everyone to be donors upon death.
Posted by: Yancey Ward at Jul 20, 2007 11:34:55 PM
@JEAN
Just tell them the obvious, that a black market in organs already exists for those willing to pay the right price, like it or not. Opening up the market would mean that these organs will be available to an even bigger market, including for those people who currently cannot pay a black market price.
Posted by: kurt at Jul 21, 2007 9:29:13 AM
I registered as an organ donor, but it was just a hoax.
Posted by: mobile at Jul 21, 2007 9:09:46 PM
Just make sure those who registered their willingness to donate after death at the first, or at the earliest age go to the top of every list for an organ. Then not signing a donation card would have a potentially dramatic (but very fair) downside.
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