An individual can live a long, healthy life with just one kidney.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – Thousands of people are dying every year in the United States because they don’t receive a kidney on time. But according to a recent survey, donor numbers might boost if they receive compensation. The problem is that there are a lot of moral and ethical issues with this solution.
The United States law prohibits any form of compensation linked to organ donation. But, in a desperate attempt to find a solution to the organ shortage, a team of researchers conducted a survey study in order to see if money could determine people to save a life.
The Nephrology American Journal stated that a living donor loses about $,000 in expenses when deciding to give up on a kidney in order to save a life. And while medical expenses are covered by the insurance of the recipient, there are other additional ones, such as lodging, transportation, lost wages and childcare who must be handled by the donor.
A fix compensation could cover all of these other costs, but there are some doctors who strongly advise against any material incentives. The reason for the opposition I the fact that offering money to possible donors is the first step towards coercion, body modifications and undue influence. Moreover, some individuals may feel offended by the money.
In order to determine just how much a fix compensation would boost kidney donation, the researchers conducted a phone survey on June, 2014. There were 584 female responders and 427 male ones. All of the participants were active and registered United States voters with cell phones and land lines. Roughly 70 percent were aged 45 and more.
According to the results, 68 percent of the surveyed individuals declared that they would donate a kidney to another person no matter if it’s a family member or a complete stranger. Almost 23 percent claimed to be willing to donate a kidney only to friends and relatives and 9 percent refused the idea completely.
When a $50,000 payment came into question, 59 percent declared that the money would make them more willing to donate, 32 percent claimed that the compensation would not weigh in their decision and 9 percent considered the offer offending.
The majority of the surveyed citizens declared that they would support such an idea. But according to the same study, federal laws must be changed in order for that to happen.
Even though the research shows donor numbers might boost if they receive compensation, authorities are still skeptical when it comes to the idea.
Image source: Pixabay