When altruism isn't enough
Subtitle: the case for compensating kidney donors
By: edited by Sally Satel.
Contributors: Satel, Sally L.
Publisher: AEI Press
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 228
ISBN-13: 9780844742663
Subjects: Kidneys -- Transplantatin -- Economic aspects; Kidney Transplantation -- economics; Kidney Transplantation -- ethics; Tissue Donors -- ethics
Description: "America faces a desperate organ shortage. Today, more than 78,000 people are waiting for a kidney transplant; only one in four will receive one this year, while twelve die each day waiting for help. Not surprisingly, many patients are driven to desperate measures to circumvent the eight-year waiting list--renting billboards, advertising in newsletters, or even purchasing an organ on the global black market. Altruism is an admirable but clearly insufficient motivation for would-be donors. What can be done to solve the kidney crisis? Reward organ donors for their remarkable gifts. Noncash benefits to people who donate to a desperate stranger will motivate others to do the same, increase the national supply of kidneys, and reduce needless death and suffering. When Altruism Isn't Enough: The Case for Compensating Kidney Donors explores the key ethical, theoretical, and practical concerns of a government-regulated donor compensation program. It is the first book to describe how such a system could be designed to be ethically permissible, economically justifiable, and pragmatically achievable." --back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Risks of kidney transplantation to a living donor / Arthur J. Matas; title: The cost-effectiveness of renal transplantation / Elbert S. Huang, Nidhi Thakur, and David O. Meltzer; title: Operational organization of a system for compensated living organ providers / David C. Cronin II and Julio J. Elìas; title: Donor compensation without exploitation / James Stacey Taylor and Mary C. Simmerling; title: Concerns about human dignity and commodification / Sally Satel; title: Altruism and valuable consideration in organ transplantation / Richard A. Epstein; title: Crowding out, crowding in, and financial incentives for organ procurement / Benjamin E. Hippen and Sally Satel.