What do you think of paying kidney donors?

[azstonie]

Man, this is an interesting question. I would have sold mine in my twenties for some good seats at a Pearl Jam concert.

Backstage passes for Tower of Power until 5 years ago (that's when getting dressed up and finding parking and sitting near 'the public' was too much effort).

 

[Resonance.Of.Life]

Infected* Oh my goodness... sorry for that error.. -_- it's these 13 hour days.

 

[Resonance.Of.Life]

I live in an urban area where there there are a lot of poor people who get little or no primary care who end up on dialysis. I HATE the idea of paying for a kidney. Why? Because those who are already financially downtrodden will be most likely to try to sell their kidney. And then they'll go 20-30 years without ever seeing another doctor, during which time their raging hypertension or undetected diabetes mellitus will kill their kidneys. So, instead of having poor kidney function and scraping by without dialysis, they'll now need dialysis. All so some wealthy person (who paid for the kidney) could avoid dialysis.

THIS.

From what I gathered in documentaries.. many people in impoverished countries try to sell their kidneys for money.. the documentary I watched focused on impoverished people in India. Many times the people never get the full amount or nothing at all from the "donation."

 

[missy]

I live in an urban area where there there are a lot of poor people who get little or no primary care who end up on dialysis. I HATE the idea of paying for a kidney. Why? Because those who are already financially downtrodden will be most likely to try to sell their kidney. And then they'll go 20-30 years without ever seeing another doctor, during which time their raging hypertension or undetected diabetes mellitus will kill their kidneys. So, instead of having poor kidney function and scraping by without dialysis, they'll now need dialysis. All so some wealthy person (who paid for the kidney) could avoid dialysis.

THIS.

From what I gathered in documentaries.. many people in impoverished countries try to sell their kidneys for money.. the documentary I watched focused on impoverished people in India. Many times the people never get the full amount or nothing at all from the "donation."

Yes this is a big ethical dilemma and I wonder if it becomes legalized here if that would make it a better system. It would certainly help diminish the issue of people not getting paid the full amount. Legalizing this would hold people accountable for payment in full etc. But it would do nothing to diminish the problem of the poor selling their organs for money they desperately need vs the wealthy who of course would not consider such a donation for money.

However one could look at it this way. More lives would be saved and those donating would get paid hopefully a decent and fair (though who is to say what this is) amount that would hopefully allow them to increase the quality of their lives. I have to say though I cannot imagine what amount would be a fair one to part with a body organ.

One thing I see as a potential problem is what wildcat wrote above. That buying someone's kidney would be for a wealthy person to avoid dialysis. What if one were only allow to purchase an organ if it were a life and death situation and all others would have to wait on the transplant list for a cadaver donor. So only if one's life was in the balance could they purchase a body organ. Just thinking out loud.

Man, this is an interesting question. I would have sold mine in my twenties for some good seats at a Pearl Jam concert.

Backstage passes for Tower of Power until 5 years ago (that's when getting dressed up and finding parking and sitting near 'the public' was too much effort).

LOL well I was going to say let's put an age minimum of like 30 on allowing someone to donate hoping they had more wisdom by then but LOL Kristie you just dashed that theory.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I work in Transplant and few of my patients would be in the position to pay for an organ. I also find it unethical. UNOS was created to be a far playing field so the sickest patients, not the richest, get the organs they need. A larger problem that I see is people's resistance to be organ donors. Our country has a shortage and I am aways chocked when people refuse to be an organ donor. It is such an obvious and selfless gift.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

With all the talk about inequality in the world, you want to add another rung. This is where the line ought to be drawn. Money does not get the organ. Our humanity says it goes to the sickest.

I lost a son many years ago when organ donations were very new. My husband and I donated his eyes to the Eye bank for Sight Restoration. I have re-read a letter from them often and It makes my heart so much easier knowing that someone may have gotten a cornea to see again. Someone may not have had to live in the dark.

It never entered our minds to look for money. There are things money can't buy. Lets keep it that way.


Annette

 

[missy]

Annette, I am so sorry about your son. What an amazing gift you gave someone else to have donated his eyes.
I agree with what you wrote. However my question asks beyond those who generously donate their or a loved ones organs who have died is how to get more people to donate? And one step further, how to get more donations from living donors for those are different questions. How to save more lives that would not otherwise be saved?

I agree the sickest should get the cadaver and living organ donations from those who so generously donate.
Just adding the question is it something to consider/ethical to try saving more lives by adding a financial incentive to those who would otherwise never consider donation?

Hi,

With all the talk about inequality in the world, you want to add another rung. This is where the line ought to be drawn. Money does not get the organ. Our humanity says it goes to the sickest.

I lost a son many years ago when organ donations were very new. My husband and I donated his eyes to the Eye bank for Sight Restoration. I have re-read a letter from them often and It makes my heart so much easier knowing that someone may have gotten a cornea to see again. Someone may not have had to live in the dark.

It never entered our minds to look for money. There are things money can't buy. Lets keep it that way.


Annette

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,


Perhaps, as in the case of a kidney, a contractual promise that if the donor needs a kidney later in life, he/she would move to the top of the list for a new kidney.

I understand that a liver regenerates, so that if a piece is removed from a donor, it will eventually grow back. If more people understood that, they might donate part of their liver to a match.

That's all I have at the moment. I'll keep thinking.


Annette

 

[smitcompton]

Hi Again,

I think the incentive would have to be treated in two different ways.

Dead Donor: Set up a Foundation to allow the donor of an organ to have a beneficiary receive a monetary sum of say 10,000.00 for their donation for the organ. Get a hedgefund 1 percenter to be the benefactor for the good of society, or crowd fund smaller donations to set up this Trust. This becomes another Charity tax write-off. But will increase organ donors.


Live Donors: Must get a contract from kidney bank etc. to be placed at the top of the list if donor should so need. If the recipient is able to afford 10,000 for the organ, it is donated to above charity to be paid when donor dies to his beneficiary. Like an insurance policy. No money until death.

If recipient cannot afford fees, no problem, he still gets the organ. But donor doesn't get death benefit.

That's as far as I've gotten. Now to find that Hedgefund Manager.

Annette

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Hi,


Perhaps, as in the case of a kidney, a contractual promise that if the donor needs a kidney later in life, he/she would move to the top of the list for a new kidney.

I understand that a liver regenerates, so that if a piece is removed from a donor, it will eventually grow back. If more people understood that, they might donate part of their liver to a match.

That's all I have at the moment. I'll keep thinking.


Annette

The lobe of the liver that is cut off does NOT grow back. The lobe that stays grows to compensate. Not everyone can get a live donor. None of my patients qualify. It works best for children and petite adults. Being a donor is a tough recovery. I am told it is more difficult than receiving the new organ. We also do organ chains so lets say I want to donate my kidney to my sister but am not a match. I can donate to someone else who donates to someone else and so on so that my sister gets what she needs. The longest chain my hospital has done was 27 people.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi Tacori,

I should have stopped at the word regeneration. I did know a physician who did the early research on liver regeneration. It was a new process at the time as most thought the liver couldn't regenerate. Thanks for clarifying my statement.

I very muchl ike the chain idea. I haven't kept up with the organ transplant news in quite a while.

Annette

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Hi Tacori,

I should have stopped at the word regeneration. I did know a physician who did the early research on liver regeneration. It was a new process at the time as most thought the liver couldn't regenerate. Thanks for clarifying my statement.

I very muchl ike the chain idea. I haven't kept up with the organ transplant news in quite a while.

Annette

I work in Transplant and the head Surgeon specializes in live liver donations. It is very interesting but the best source for livers still remain in the decease donor category. Dialysis, why painful and time consuming, is a blessing for those on the kidney list. Our wait is 3-5 years. Heart patients can get a VAD. Liver patients have to wait. They cannot all survive a long wait for a suitable liver. Not every donated liver is healthy so the amount of healthy, viable livers are low.

 

[TooPatient]

Hi,


Perhaps, as in the case of a kidney, a contractual promise that if the donor needs a kidney later in life, he/she would move to the top of the list for a new kidney.

I understand that a liver regenerates, so that if a piece is removed from a donor, it will eventually grow back. If more people understood that, they might donate part of their liver to a match.

That's all I have at the moment. I'll keep thinking.


Annette

The lobe of the liver that is cut off does NOT grow back. The lobe that stays grows to compensate. Not everyone can get a live donor. None of my patients qualify. It works best for children and petite adults. Being a donor is a tough recovery. I am told it is more difficult than receiving the new organ. We also do organ chains so lets say I want to donate my kidney to my sister but am not a match. I can donate to someone else who donates to someone else and so on so that my sister gets what she needs. The longest chain my hospital has done was 27 people.

That is really cool!

 

[TooPatient]

DH and I talked about this today.

He is absolutely opposed to payment of any form for a donation. He makes the moral argument.

So..... I got to thinking also about donation after death. I wonder how many people never give it any thought as a topic they don't want to talk about and then family gets overwhelmed after the fact so it never happens? Getting DH to sit down and deal with a will was like pulling teeth. I know other people who put off talking about topics of what to do when they die until they don't ever talk about it.

It seems like education would be a good place to start. Get facts out there. Encourage people to talk about it.

I have even heard people say that they refuse to be an organ donor because if something bad happens, the hospital will want their organs so not try as much to save them. Not just one person. Heard this from several different unrelated people.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

DH and I talked about this today.

He is absolutely opposed to payment of any form for a donation. He makes the moral argument.

So..... I got to thinking also about donation after death. I wonder how many people never give it any thought as a topic they don't want to talk about and then family gets overwhelmed after the fact so it never happens? Getting DH to sit down and deal with a will was like pulling teeth. I know other people who put off talking about topics of what to do when they die until they don't ever talk about it.

It seems like education would be a good place to start. Get facts out there. Encourage people to talk about it.

I have even heard people say that they refuse to be an organ donor because if something bad happens, the hospital will want their organs so not try as much to save them. Not just one person. Heard this from several different unrelated people.

You can register online. It is very simple. There are some myths surrounding organ donation. The doctors are NOT going to let you die just because you are a donor. Some of my patients work as an advocate to educate people about organ donation. They set up booths at the state fair so people can register. http://donatelife.net/