Blood Money
Iran is the only country in the world regularly paying compensation for live kidney donors:
- The Iranian system began in 1988 and eliminated the shortage of kidneys by 1999.
- Iran is the only country in the world without a shortage of kidneys.
- Payments from government and charity are ~$3,500-$6,000.
This is from Alex Tabarrok’s PowerPoint slides. Alex also points to a new NBER study, finding that economic incentives increase blood donations, and supplies additional commentary.
Alexander Berger makes the argument for a market for kidneys in The New York Times. Austin Frakt also weighs in. Sally Satel, who has been an advocate for liberation for years, applauds the bone marrow ruling in her most recent op-ed [gated] in The Wall Street Journal.
I guess this means there is at least one thing the Iranians do better than us.
Live kidney donation raises the concern that someone might sell a kidney and later need it back. However, I am fully in favor of allowing compensating the family for kidney donation upon the death of a family member.
Interestingly, the Iranians are ahead of the curve on this one.