« Outliers | Main | Infrastructure fact of the day »
Singapore to Pay Organ Donors
Big news on the effort to alleviate the shortage of human organs:
Singapore is to allow compensation for kidney transplants and for eggs. A government proposal has been approved by a bioethics committee and legislation will be introduced early next year.
...According to the BMJ, a sum of S$10,000 was mentioned. According to the Straits Times, the health minister, Mr Khaw Boon Wan, mentioned "at least a five-figure sum, possibly even six-figure" as appropriate reimbursement. This would include expenses, such as transport and medical costs, as well as loss of earnings. Also, the donor should be covered for follow-up medical costs and higher insurance premiums as a result of losing a kidney.
In other big news the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is reconsidering their long-held opposition to compensation for organ donors. The NKF is surveying people on financial compensation. Marginal Revolution readers can raise the level of discussion and perhaps help save some lives by answering the survey here (it's very short).
Thanks to Lloyd Cohen and Richard Darling for the pointers.
Posted by Alex Tabarrok on November 19, 2008 at 07:35 AM in Economics, Medicine | Permalink
Comments
Yay! That's another small step to a much better world.
I just hope noone listens to people and their price control ideas.
Perhaps soon I can go back to hoping (though not legislating) motorcycle riders wear their helmets.
Looks like the survey might be swamped.
Posted by: Andrew at Nov 19, 2008 7:54:03 AM
Is there any sort of paid-for deceased donation right now, anywhere?
Posted by: Edward McPepper at Nov 19, 2008 8:49:33 AM
But do anyone consider the failure of blood selling? Can money create incentive as economists said, or create more problems?
Posted by: def at Nov 19, 2008 9:02:41 AM
Excellent news. Kudos to you, Alex.
Do Krugman, DeLong, Rodrik ever come out for organ liberalization? Does anyone on the left?
Posted by: Daniel Klein at Nov 19, 2008 9:10:39 AM
Wow, excellent question D. Klein.
If not, it's proof they would have more value as harvested organs. It's such a no-brainer.
They probably think organ liberalization has to do with church music.
def, what has failed with blood selling? If anything, I'd assume that donors undercut demand for sales. Donors are paid by thanks, feeling good, and avoiding the brow-beating non-donors get. Donors, also might tend to have better blood than those needing small cash infusions. Libertarians don't all think that allowing a market to take place means that a booming market will develop, just that it might.
Posted by: Andrew at Nov 19, 2008 9:57:18 AM
I have in my Will, that if the sale of organs is legal when I leave this happy world, that my organs shall be harvested and sold and the proceeds go to my inheritors; if such sale is not legal then the organs can go into the crematorium with the rest of the unsaleable dross.
Posted by: CK at Nov 19, 2008 11:32:38 AM
S$10,000 is about US$6,500. Sounds like a bargain to me.
The problem with paying blood donors is that they might lie about disqualifying conditions in order to collect the payment. Will this be a problem with organ donors as well? Maybe.
Posted by: Ned at Nov 19, 2008 11:50:03 AM
You can't yet sell your organs in the United States, but LifeSharers offers an excellent trade -- if you agree to donate your organs through LifeSharers when you die, then LifeSharers will improve your chances of getting a transplant should you ever need one to live. Given that most people on the national transplant waiting list die waiting, this is a good trade.
Check out LifeSharers at www.lifesharers.org. It's free. It could save your life.
Posted by: Dave Undis at Nov 19, 2008 3:52:40 PM
I have mixed feeling about that.I think it is good to get paid for it. But what are the long term effects on the person hat give up there organ. Its not like they are able to just go and grow another one.So That is a scary thing to do..
Posted by: vichunt at Nov 19, 2008 4:08:12 PM
I often think about mounting a campaign where I volunteer to donate a kidney for a trivial sum of a penny, provided it is a legal market transaction. I think I know where this survey will lead. Unfortunately we'll see organs grown in labs with stem cells before people will warm to the idea, and in the meanwhile many lives will be lost.
Posted by: sc at Nov 19, 2008 6:06:28 PM
This seems like a great idea. The one problem, illustrated by CK above, is that people will be less likely to donate their organs if they aren't being paid. And its not like everyone has $10,000 to throw around, even to save their life.
Posted by: at Nov 20, 2008 2:00:04 AM
This seems like a great idea. The one problem, illustrated by CK above, is that people will be less likely to donate their organs if they aren't being paid. And its not like everyone has $10,000 to throw around, even to save their life.
Posted by: at Nov 20, 2008 2:01:18 AM
I dont think people will be less likely to donate (if they aren´t being paid)... Most part of donations happens between relatives, family and close friends. This kind of donation will not end. -Brazilian economics studant-
Posted by: Isabela at Nov 20, 2008 6:35:34 AM
The treatments to keep kidney patients alive while awaiting transplants can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Private insurance companies or Medicaid would be delighted to take those patients off dialysis by paying a kidney donor $10k. It would be a bargain at several times that price. If this sort of compensation were legalized, it's highly unlikely that the costs would be borne by individual patients. They'd be paid by those currently paying for treatment: public and private insurers, who would save many thousands of dollars per patient.
Posted by: Amy at Nov 23, 2008 12:00:17 AM
so, it means that singapore has make selling organs (kidneys) are legar, hasn't it??
Posted by: dhevine at Dec 14, 2008 2:36:01 AM
You will find that the more cheap zeny is very good in our company.
Posted by: cheap zeny at Jan 2, 2009 2:06:12 AM
Here suppling of a large number of cheap tiffany Jewelry,tiffany Replica Jewelry,Imitation Tiffany Jewelry and Knockoff Tiffany Jewelry,Silver Jewelry,925 tiffany Jewelry,Tiffany Silver Jewelry,So cheap!!!
Posted by: aion kina at Mar 18, 2009 5:11:58 AM
I want to sell one of my kidney
age :24 yr
sex Male
condition : health
blood type :AB
Phone number :+6287834064442
Posted by: angga widianto at Apr 24, 2009 10:16:15 AM
I want to sell one of my kidney
age :24 yr
sex Male
condition : health
blood type :AB
Phone number :+6287834064442
Posted by: angga widianto at Apr 24, 2009 10:17:36 AM
I WANT TO SELL ONE OF MY KIDNEYS
AGE:27
SEX: MALE
PHYSICAL CONDITION: 100% HEALTHY
BLOOD TYPE: O+
email ID: arif@mcse_live.in
Contact No.: +66 84 084 3504
Posted by: Arif at Aug 11, 2009 11:47:19 PM
