• About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe for Free
  • Download App
  • Anti-Racism Summit
  • Terms of Service
SWHELPER
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Mental Health
  • Politics
  • Tech
  • LGBTQ
  • Disability
Find/Post Jobs
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Mental Health
  • Politics
  • Tech
  • LGBTQ
  • Disability
No Result
View All Result
SWHELPER
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Response to: “Cash for Kidneys: The Case for a Market for Organs”

David NguyenbyDavid Nguyen
March 5, 2014
in News
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin

Economists Gary S. Becker and Julio J. Elias propose in the Wall Street Journal that they have calculated a system of legal payments for kidney donations that would cut costs and reduce shortages in America.

doctorsThe authors propose a system in which making it legal to pay someone for one of their kidneys is economically feasible on a national scale, while dramatically cutting down the time patients would need to wait for a matching donor. At face value, the proposal sounds good. However, as someone who studies the plight of the most vulnerable and exploitable, I must say that such a system would need to be accompanied by highly stringent informed consent safeguards — probably more stringent than the informed consent envisioned by the authors.

Hypothetical scenarios that are formulated in a “vacuum” where all things are equal often grossly underestimate the ingenuity of the underground business world. Organized criminal activity has an uncanny ability to coerce or exploit the most vulnerable in societies — much like organized criminal activity that exploits business ethics on Wall Street.

According to the authors,

We have estimated how much individuals would need to be paid for kidneys to be willing to sell them for transplants. These estimates take account of the slight risk to donors from transplant surgery, the number of weeks of work lost during the surgery and recovery periods, and the small risk of reduction in the quality of life.

Our conclusion is that a very large number of both live and cadaveric kidney donations would be available by paying about $15,000 for each kidney. That estimate isn’t exact, and the true cost could be as high as $25,000 or as low as $5,000—but even the high estimate wouldn’t increase the total cost of kidney transplants by a large percentage. Read More 

The authors state that “the sale of organs would make them more available to the poor, and Medicaid could help pay for the added costs of transplant surgery.” This statement serves to suggest that a system of legal payment for kidney donations would benefit not just the rich, but the poor. While there is merit to this statement, it is worth noting that the authors’ definition of “poor” involves the word Medicaid.

This qualifier excludes the vast majority of poor people in the world, the very people who would be exploited by illegal organ traders. And, in light of the authors’ statement that “today, the rich often don’t wait as long as others for organs since some of them go to countries such as India, where they can arrange for transplants in the underground medical sector,” I see evidence of the very concern I am here presenting.

The authors’ proposal is very noble and I think that it is worth considering. They are conscientious about weighing costs in a situation that presents multiple moral dilemmas. However, as with any market where there is already evidence that the most vulnerable are exploited, we must proceed with caution.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
Previous Post

Good News for Macro Practice?

Next Post

Boys Don’t Cry: The Crisis of Masculinity

David Nguyen

David Nguyen

Dave Nguyen is Editor-in-Chief of Cancer InCytes Magazine, a public health and social justice e-magazine that focuses on the healthcare needs of disadvantaged populations, particularly victims of human trafficking and the homeless. He is a cancer biologist who studies the biological processes that link childhood trauma to the risk for developing cancer during adulthood. His other human rights research is about cost-effective experiments to detect the age, race, and gender of anonymous human tissue sold for research purposes.

Related Posts

How Does Sex Therapy Rescue Your Love Life? – 6 Incredible Ways
Health

How Does Sex Therapy Rescue Your Love Life? – 6 Incredible Ways

June 30, 2022
Hate Sites Using the Wider Abortion Argument to Spread Racism and Extremism
Health

Hate Sites Using the Wider Abortion Argument to Spread Racism and Extremism

June 29, 2022
The Positive Impact Social Work Can Have on Public Education
Education

The Positive Impact Social Work Can Have on Public Education

June 24, 2022
Insult to Injury: U.S. Workers Without Paid Sick Leave Suffer from Mental Distress
Education

How Social Workers Can Practice Trauma-Informed Care

June 18, 2022
In A New World, Social Work Leads the Way
Criminal Justice

In A New World, Social Work Leads the Way

June 14, 2022
Technology and Entrepreneurship in Social Work
News

Technology and Entrepreneurship in Social Work

April 6, 2022
Next Post
Boys Don’t Cry: The Crisis of Masculinity

Boys Don’t Cry: The Crisis of Masculinity

What are you doing for Social Work Month: #SWHelper Live Twitter Chats Are Back

What are you doing for Social Work Month: #SWHelper Live Twitter Chats Are Back

Leave Comment
What Can Be Done To Solve The Foster Care Crisis?

Ending the Therapeutic Relationship: Creative Termination Activities

June 24, 2022
What Feelings Are In Your Heart: An Art Therapy Exercise for Kids

What Feelings Are In Your Heart: An Art Therapy Exercise for Kids

June 19, 2022
Want to Work With Children: 5 Skills and Qualities You Should Be Working On

Want to Work With Children: 5 Skills and Qualities You Should Be Working On

April 7, 2019
What Is a Genogram and Why Do I Need to Learn How to Create One?

What Is a Genogram and Why Do I Need to Learn How to Create One?

April 7, 2019
ADVERTISEMENT

Good Things Happen When
You Subscribe

Subscribe
  • What Can Be Done To Solve The Foster Care Crisis?

    Ending the Therapeutic Relationship: Creative Termination Activities

    77 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What Feelings Are In Your Heart: An Art Therapy Exercise for Kids

    396 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Want to Work With Children: 5 Skills and Qualities You Should Be Working On

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What Is a Genogram and Why Do I Need to Learn How to Create One?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Importance of Mental Health Awareness

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
ADVERTISEMENT
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram TikTok
SWHELPER

  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe for Free
  • Download App
  • Anti-Racism Summit
  • Terms of Service

© 2022 Social Work Helper, PBC

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • News
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Politics
    • Criminal Justice
    • Social Work
    • Education
    • LGBTQ
    • Poverty
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Virtual Summit
  • Career Center
  • Download App
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart

© 2022 Social Work Helper, PBC

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Facebook
Sign In with Google
Sign In with Linked In
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Sign Up with Facebook
Sign Up with Google
Sign Up with Linked In
OR

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Good Things Happen When
You Subscribe

Subscribe
Go to mobile version
 

    %d bloggers like this: