Money for organ donation redux

Yesterday I got a bit carried away in my post on organ donation. I didn’t say it in that post because it seemed fairly obvious to me that the reason it’s verboten by Uncle Sam is to ostensibly protect individuals from being exploited for their organs. To me that seems like it would simply force the practice underground, whereas I think it would be better to have it out in the open and regulated for the safety of all parties involved. (I think the same thing about prostitution, as you might guess.) I am not aware of a thriving black market for human organs in the United States, however such markets exist in other countries.

Anyway, the whole point of yesterday’s post was to mention baby steps towards creating a legitimate market for organs. A Jerusalem district court ruled that Israeli HMOs must pay kidney donors NIS 63,000 (~$14,300) to cover their expenses, but it stopped short of saying whether they’re allowed to pay for a kidney:

The Western world generally forbids organ trade. In Israel the ban came in a directive by the CEO of the Health Ministry. But Jewish law (halakha) does allow payment for organs and even considers selling one to be a mitzvah.

In a precedent-setting ruling on Monday by the Jerusalem District Court, Judge Joseph Shapira instructed HMOs to pay 31 kidney donors NIS 63,000 each to cover expenses. Shapira stipulated that the ruling is not on the more fundamental issue of whether payment should be allowed for the kidney itself.

An interesting ruling. But since most kidneys are donated by living relatives, it would almost seem a little odd for an HMO to be giving money to the donor outside of expenses. It would seem like it would be the responsibility of the private parties to handle that sort of thing.

I believe Levitt is wrong in his blog post on the topic when he says that these people are getting an extra $13,000 in their pockets. It reads to me that the Israeli HMO’s are merely covering the expenses of the second party involved rather than allowing them to take home some extra pocket cash. How do you all read it?

[tags]Medicine, organ donation, economics, healthcare, Israel, ethics[/tags]

10 thoughts on “Money for organ donation redux

  1. I want to donate my organ,any part required,i need the money,so whats anyone’s business.contact me.

  2. I want to donate my organ,well,i shouldn’t say donate maybe sell is the right word,any part required,i need the money,so whats anyone’s business.contact me.

  3. I would sell my organs, any required. Me and my husband have two children he is in the miltary and has been deployed twice i want him to get out so a little money to put and the banj would help us alot.

  4. I would sell my organs, any required. Me and my husband have two children he is in the miltary and has been deployed twice i want him to get out so a little money to put and the bank would help us alot.

  5. I don’t mind selling on of my organ to help someone, but I would not do it outside of the US, because thats where people turn up missing. If the doctors was smart enought to do it they could come to the USA and buy a farm and use it for one thing doing the day, like framing and another thing at night . You can have grants to run the day time things and doctors getting paid at night for organs. If you need somebody to help you run it I can. Call or email me and we can talk about it. (410-728-0120

  6. I want to donate my organ,any part required,i need the money,so whats anyone's business.contact me.

  7. I would sale an organ for the right amount of money!!! There is a life saving surgery that I need and cant get the money! So I would do about anything to get the money i need for that sergury!!!  email me at  jville_man_38@yahoo.com

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