A kidney transplant surgeon has taking this controversial stance on organ donation:
For the past several years, Matas, a longtime proponent for increased organ donation, has taken a rather controversial stance in the debate over the sale of organs.“I’ve struggled with it,” Matas said. “There are tons of reasons for why one shouldn’t go forward with it.”
Why, then, does he believe in creating a regulated system of kidney sales?
The reason, Matas said, is simple.
“Every year there are more people added to the (organ) waitlist than we transplant, so every year the waitlist is getting longer,” he said.
Related posts:
- Poll: How can we increase the supply of donor kidneys?
- No give, no take
- Courts Rule that No One Owns A Donated Organ
- Give me back my kidney!
- Suspicion of a "kidney cult" halts a transplant
- Transplant flight crash
- Can you find a kidney through a Craigslist personal ad?
KevinMD.com on Facebook
{ 3 comments }
Paying for transplantable organs would save thousands of lives every year. But it’s extremely unlikely that paying for organs will be legal in the forseeable future.
Fortunately, there is an already-legal way to put a big dent in the organ shortage — allocate organs first to those who have agreed to donate their own organs when they die.
Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. People who aren’t willing to share the gift of life should go to the back of the waiting list as long as there is a shortage of organs.
Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. Membership is free at http://www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no age limit, and no one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition.
Want more organs available? Easy as pie. Give people that agree to be organ doners a free point on their driving record.
So you wanna sell your organs? Could be a good way to get a break. Homeless guy – needs a place to stay over winter – lose a kidney, sounds not too bad. How much for it? $5000? That’s a lot of cash…get you through.
And next winter, maybe the other kidney. No problem.
Comments on this entry are closed.