Sell your kidney for $47k...

DucksNuts · 05-06-2008, 05:35 AM

The doctor that did my Sister's kidney transplant 11 years ago has proposed that the government pays up to $47,000 for kidney donation to help with the chronic shortage of donors.

Quote:

Kidney specialist Gavin Carney said allowing the sale of organs would save thousands of lives and billions of dollars in care for patients on transplant waiting lists. He also said it would stop people from buying organs on the black market in developing countries, where they pursue risky, unregulated surgeries.

Australia has one of the lowest rates of organ donation in the developed world, about 10 donors per 1 million people, according to a federal health task force.

"We've tried everything to drum up support for organ donation and the rates have not risen in 10 years," Carney was quoted as saying in Fairfax newspapers. "People just don't seem to be willing to give their organs away for free. ... Let's pay people some money for a new car or a house deposit and those waiting lists will be halved within about five years."

My family went through the screening procedure to see who could donate to my Sister. My eldest Brother was a match, but he couldnt donate due to the need for 3 months off work and with home loans etc...he couldnt do it.

My Mother was a match and went through the donation process....and the after effects have been horrific for both my Sister and my Mother.

I can see the monetary benefits would be great, but I dont know how the donors motivation could be monitored.

Obviously, the proposal was rejected....but its been weighing on my mind for the past two days.

smoothmoniker · 05-06-2008, 11:49 AM

Why not apply this same thing to people who choose to donate their organs when they pass away? I could see some people who wouldn't choose to be donors, but might if it meant $100k would be given to their kids upon death.

toranokaze · 05-06-2008, 11:54 AM

Cheaper than life insurance.
But would the 47k even cover the surgery?

Dingleschmutz · 05-06-2008, 01:13 PM

I'll hold on to mine. I spent my early twenties in an alcoholic haze, I better have two, just to be sure.

Aliantha · 05-06-2008, 05:02 PM

I've been watching this on the news too and I've been thinking about it a lot.

I know I'd give up a kidney in a heartbeat for someone in my family or one of my friends if it were necessary, so the idea of actually doing it doesn't bother me. With that in mind, I really think that if you were able to get paid for doing it, I'd probably consider it anyway. It'd go a long way towards paying off the mortgage, and I might save someone's life as well.

The only thing I think about is if this would then cause some kind of ongoing vicious cylce where you're left with one kidney that has to work harder thus meaning you might need a kidney donation in the future yourself. I don't really understand all the physiology of it so can't really make an informed decision, but on the face of it, I don't really have any moral objections to it. Even for those people who give up a kidney to buy drugs etc. They'll get the money somehow if they're that desperate. I'd rather not be involved in a bank robbery.

DucksNuts · 05-06-2008, 06:09 PM

Ali, a person can function just fine with one kidney.

My Sister had been functioning on part of an diseased one for a good 15 years (they gave her 8 years when diagnosed and she didnt even get to dialysis stage before the transplant was done).

My Mums problems are more to do with the scars that the surgery left, than the loss of a kidney.

This is why it was suggested that healthy people be able to donate a kidney...its something that we can do without.

monster · 05-06-2008, 07:24 PM

I'm fine with the principle, but I'm not sure about the cash amount. I worry that it will persuade people who have not fully researched and understood the potential health issues (including scarring and future kidney failure) to do it out of need for a quick cash fix. I also don't think 47K is enough if you must do it lump-sum-wise. true, a bigger amount might make more people take the decision to donate while uninformed, but it might also make some say "whoa, that's a huge amount, there must be some risks, I'll find out what they are before I agree.

I think it would be better if there could be an extended term benefit ...like free private healthcare for life in countries where such a thing is vastly superior to the free public health care. Of course this is a pipe dream because few governments would agree to any benefit without a fixed determinable cost, but maybe if we could meet half way?

richlevy · 05-07-2008, 06:48 PM

There was a sci-fi story about a prison where, instead or prison labor, prisoners would get benefits by donating organs. The author described a number of 'volunteers' missing eyes, kidneys, etc.

People are already preyed on for their paychecks and possessions. If we turn every human being into a walking warehouse of marketable organs, I can see a whole industry opening up. Imagine credit card contracts where the company can foreclose on a kidney if the borrower defaults. Losing an arm and a leg could become literal.

Happy Monkey · 05-07-2008, 06:57 PM

Several of Larry Niven's books involved the market for transplant organs in the future. More and more crimes were assigned the death penalty, cryogenic freezers were raided for parts, and a black market for murders fueled "organleggers".

Niven recently made the news suggesting (hopefully tongue in cheek, but probably not) that rumors in Spanish be started that hospitals were stealing illegal immigrants' organs, to discourage them from going.

HungLikeJesus · 05-07-2008, 07:17 PM

If you do sell your kidney for $47k thousand, don't forget to tip the Mug.

Radar · 05-08-2008, 12:31 PM

Wouldn't it be better just to take the organs from hobos?

Dingleschmutz · 05-08-2008, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radar

Wouldn't it be better just to take the organs from hobos?

Nah, I like having my windshield washed for a quarter. I say we just raid a third world country as needed.

BrianR · 05-08-2008, 02:03 PM

Why has no one else flashed back to the liver transplant scene in The Meaning of Life?

monster · 05-09-2008, 06:53 AM

Could be an alternate to the death penalty. Just don't tell the recipients it's a criminal organ....

Shawnee123 · 05-09-2008, 12:24 PM

I can see the headlines now:

Man Sues Mercy Medical After Learning He Got a Lawless Liver

or:

Woman In Shock After Discovering Her Kidney Was Extracted From a Kidnapper.

or:

Pedophile's Pancreas Placed Precariously in Practicing Priest. (Well, that one might not be so far-fetched.)

05-06-2008, 11:49 AM	#2
smoothmoniker to live and die in LA Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 2,090	Why not apply this same thing to people who choose to donate their organs when they pass away? I could see some people who wouldn't choose to be donors, but might if it meant $100k would be given to their kids upon death. __________________ to live and die in LA

05-06-2008, 11:54 AM	#3
toranokaze I'm still a jerk Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Little Mexico Posts: 1,817	Cheaper than life insurance. But would the 47k even cover the surgery? __________________ "Without deviation from the norm progress is not possible." - Frank Zappa It is the ignorance of ignorance that lead to the death of knowledge The Virgin Mary does not weep for her son, for he is in paradise. She weeps for the world , for we are in suffering.

05-06-2008, 05:02 PM	#5
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	I've been watching this on the news too and I've been thinking about it a lot. I know I'd give up a kidney in a heartbeat for someone in my family or one of my friends if it were necessary, so the idea of actually doing it doesn't bother me. With that in mind, I really think that if you were able to get paid for doing it, I'd probably consider it anyway. It'd go a long way towards paying off the mortgage, and I might save someone's life as well. The only thing I think about is if this would then cause some kind of ongoing vicious cylce where you're left with one kidney that has to work harder thus meaning you might need a kidney donation in the future yourself. I don't really understand all the physiology of it so can't really make an informed decision, but on the face of it, I don't really have any moral objections to it. Even for those people who give up a kidney to buy drugs etc. They'll get the money somehow if they're that desperate. I'd rather not be involved in a bank robbery. __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

05-06-2008, 07:24 PM	#7
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	I'm fine with the principle, but I'm not sure about the cash amount. I worry that it will persuade people who have not fully researched and understood the potential health issues (including scarring and future kidney failure) to do it out of need for a quick cash fix. I also don't think 47K is enough if you must do it lump-sum-wise. true, a bigger amount might make more people take the decision to donate while uninformed, but it might also make some say "whoa, that's a huge amount, there must be some risks, I'll find out what they are before I agree. I think it would be better if there could be an extended term benefit ...like free private healthcare for life in countries where such a thing is vastly superior to the free public health care. Of course this is a pipe dream because few governments would agree to any benefit without a fixed determinable cost, but maybe if we could meet half way? __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

05-07-2008, 06:48 PM	#8
richlevy King Of Wishful Thinking Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Philadelphia Suburbs Posts: 6,669	There was a sci-fi story about a prison where, instead or prison labor, prisoners would get benefits by donating organs. The author described a number of 'volunteers' missing eyes, kidneys, etc. People are already preyed on for their paychecks and possessions. If we turn every human being into a walking warehouse of marketable organs, I can see a whole industry opening up. Imagine credit card contracts where the company can foreclose on a kidney if the borrower defaults. Losing an arm and a leg could become literal. __________________ Exercise your rights and remember your obligations - VOTE! I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting. -- Barack Hussein Obama

05-06-2008, 01:13 PM	#4
Dingleschmutz is not a palindrome... Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Des Moines Posts: 341	I'll hold on to mine. I spent my early twenties in an alcoholic haze, I better have two, just to be sure.

05-06-2008, 06:09 PM	#6
DucksNuts Bitchy Little Brat Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 5,067	Ali, a person can function just fine with one kidney. My Sister had been functioning on part of an diseased one for a good 15 years (they gave her 8 years when diagnosed and she didnt even get to dialysis stage before the transplant was done). My Mums problems are more to do with the scars that the surgery left, than the loss of a kidney. This is why it was suggested that healthy people be able to donate a kidney...its something that we can do without.

05-07-2008, 06:57 PM	#9
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	Several of Larry Niven's books involved the market for transplant organs in the future. More and more crimes were assigned the death penalty, cryogenic freezers were raided for parts, and a black market for murders fueled "organleggers". Niven recently made the news suggesting (hopefully tongue in cheek, but probably not) that rumors in Spanish be started that hospitals were stealing illegal immigrants' organs, to discourage them from going. __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

05-07-2008, 07:17 PM	#10
HungLikeJesus Only looks like a disaster tourist Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: above 7,000 feet Posts: 7,208	If you do sell your kidney for $47k thousand, don't forget to tip the Mug. __________________ Keep Your Bodies Off My Lawn SteveDallas's Random Thread Picker.

05-08-2008, 12:31 PM	#11
Radar Constitutional Scholar Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Ocala, FL Posts: 4,006	Wouldn't it be better just to take the organs from hobos? __________________ "I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death." - George Carlin

05-08-2008, 02:03 PM	#13
BrianR Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,338	Why has no one else flashed back to the liver transplant scene in The Meaning of Life? __________________ Never be afraid to tell the world who you are. -- Anonymous

05-09-2008, 06:53 AM	#14
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	Could be an alternate to the death penalty. Just don't tell the recipients it's a criminal organ.... __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

05-09-2008, 12:24 PM	#15
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	I can see the headlines now: Man Sues Mercy Medical After Learning He Got a Lawless Liver or: Woman In Shock After Discovering Her Kidney Was Extracted From a Kidnapper. or: Pedophile's Pancreas Placed Precariously in Practicing Priest. (Well, that one might not be so far-fetched.) __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

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