Kidneys For Sale? Treating Kidney Donors With Respect

The kidney transplant system in the US is undeniably in a condition of permanent predicament. The ranks of individuals needing new kidneys are exponentially growing.

According to a news report on United States Renal Data System, donation rates have considerably declined, if not have stagnated. Over 6,000 Americans, in 2001, became living donors; while only 5,600 donated in the previous year. While the waiting list has constantly doubled, new solutions are badly needed.

Scranton, Pennsylvania representative Congressman Matthew Cartwright, on Thursday, introduced the Organ Donor Clarification Act to Congress. The Organ Donor Clarification Act would allow pilots of non-cash incentives for organ donation, such as tax credits as well as charitable donation. Under the supervision of meticulous medical ethics boards, these pilots would be extremely regulated and cautiously controlled.

There is, unfortunately, an insufficient number of champions in Congress for patients with kidney failure. Being a sponsor of the Living Donor Protection Act, Congressman Matthew Cartwright is one of the most passionate as cited on Huffington Post.

Perhaps some will claim, in the days ahead, that piloting incentives for organ donation are indeed an extreme, if not a repugnant, solution. Never believe this. Carefully testing incentives has indeed broad support in the transplant community, which includes former presidents of leading professional societies as well as the directors of transplant programs such as Mt. Sinai, Weill-Cornell, the University of Minnesota, and Ohio State.

Kidney donors, right now, bear the financial costs of donation. The medical risks are entirely borne by them. International standards require a lifetime donor follow-up; however, the US only calls for 2 years. This is really unacceptable as it clearly shows disrespect to the living donors' dignity. This is partly because donors have not spoken up.

For a number of donors, the donation is the proudest moment of their lives. Although the donation is not for everyone, but there are studies which repeatedly find more than 95% of living donors are satisfied with their decision. Potential donors do not clearly feel that society is actually doing everything it can to support their decision. And as a result, people who need kidneys are frightened to seek living donation.

Justice must be duly given to kidney patients. This necessitates a GI Bill for donation: payment of our lost wages; free, lifetime health insurance for donors; lifetime follow-up care and annual stipends for those who participate in research. This also entails the idea of supporting the recipient by educating patients as well as their families about donation. As of the moment, over 75% of transplant recipients do feel insufficiently educated about living donation. These include the individuals who get a kidney.

These policies would definitely save taxpayer money by way of increasing donation. Almost $150,000 is saved by the federal government for each transplant. This far more than what the transplant support program above would cost per donor. Treating kidney patients, above all, with dignity would save both money and lives.

Thus, Congressman Cartwright definitely deserves our applause for such a noble endeavor by taking on this critical but neglected issue. Researching incentives, as a matter of fact, is worth doing; however, everyone should also treat this as just one step toward the broader ethical commitment everybody needs to make as a nation.