econ reading respone october

8/12/2019 Econ Reading Respone October

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Vinay Gupta AP Economics

10/12/12 TITLE Period 7

Nicholas Kristofs Psst! Sell Your Kidney? is a New York Times article in which he

discusses the benefits of creating a market for kidneys. Kristof highlights that, on average, 6,000

Americans die every year while waiting for kidneys.1The number of people waiting for a

deceased donor kidney has remained relatively constant for the past few years, at 93,000.2The

only reason someone would currently be willing to donate their kidney would be out of

altruism, however, that is not enough to supply all those that need kidneys with them. By

creating a market for kidneys, the number of black market purchases would be greatly reduced

and kidney operations would become much safer, and would be cheaper relative to dialysis.

Payment for organs in the United States has been outlawed since 1984, when Congress

passed the National Organ Transplant Act, banning the sale of kidneys from living donors.3The

act recognizes that altruism is the only motivation for someone to donate an organ. However,

this has not increased the number of people willing to donate an organ. Under the act,

Congress established theOrgan Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN).4This system was

created to ensure fairness in the distribution of organs throughout the US. The United Network

for Organ Sharing has operated the OPTN since 1984. This system generally operates on a first

1Nicholas Kristof, Psst! Sell Your Kidney!, The New York Times,

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/12/opinion/psst-sell-your-kidney.html (Accessed October 12, 2012)2Kevin Sack, In Discarding of Kidneys, System Reveals its Flaw, New York Times,

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/health/transplant-experts-blame-allocation-system-for-discarding-

kidneys.html?pagewanted=all (accessed October 12,2012)3National Organ transplant Act of 1984,http://www.organselling.com/documents/1984.act.pdf (Accessed

October 12, 2012)4Ibid.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/12/opinion/psst-sell-your-kidney.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/health/transplant-experts-blame-allocation-system-for-discarding-kidneys.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/health/transplant-experts-blame-allocation-system-for-discarding-kidneys.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.organselling.com/documents/1984.act.pdfhttp://www.organselling.com/documents/1984.act.pdfhttp://www.organselling.com/documents/1984.act.pdfhttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/health/transplant-experts-blame-allocation-system-for-discarding-kidneys.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/health/transplant-experts-blame-allocation-system-for-discarding-kidneys.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/12/opinion/psst-sell-your-kidney.html


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come first serve basis and therefore, factors such as income and ethnic background play no

role. However, there are many factors which must be taken into account while determining if a

certain kidney is good match for a patient. For example, the patients urgency, blood type,

tissue, and their closeness to the donor are all taken into account.5There are certain

circumstances where children become exceptions.

According to an article from The Guardian, about 10,000 black market organ purchases

take place annually, many of them for kidneys.6Those in need of kidneys would go to countries

such as China, India, or Pakistan where they would be able to purchase kidneys for up to

$200,000 from illegal sources.7Considering that a black market for kidney already exists, it

would be more efficient to create a legal and well regulated market for them. Ideally this would

provide kidneys for whoever needs it and also allow for kidney transplant operation to occur in

a safer environment. In a recent court case, an Israeli man pleaded guilty in October 2011 to

brokering transplants between paid donors and patients.8Levy Rosenbaum, a 61 year old Israeli

living in Brooklyn was charged with brokering kidneys to three New Jersey residents for about

$120,000 - $150,000.9He would find the donors by looking in Israeli newspapers.

10Then he

would find a match, arrange for a transplant and pay the donor a small amount in return. This

case, which was the first such conviction under federal law, brings up the long debated topic of

5Organ Transplant Waiting List, Organ Transplants,http://www.organtransplants.org/understanding/unos/

(Accessed October 12, 2012)6Denis Campbell, Illegal kidney trade booms as new organ is 'sold every hour', The Guardian,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/27/kidney-trade-illegal-operations-who (accessed October 12, 2012)

7Ibid.

8Mel Evans, Black-Market cash-for-kidneys trader Rosenbaum gets 2 years in prison, NBC News,

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/12/12695621-black-market-cash-for-kidneys-trader-rosenbaum-

gets-2-12-years-in-prison?lite (Accessed October 12,2012)9Ibid.

10Ibid.
http://www.organtransplants.org/understanding/unos/http://www.organtransplants.org/understanding/unos/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/27/kidney-trade-illegal-operations-whohttp://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/12/12695621-black-market-cash-for-kidneys-trader-rosenbaum-gets-2-12-years-in-prison?litehttp://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/12/12695621-black-market-cash-for-kidneys-trader-rosenbaum-gets-2-12-years-in-prison?litehttp://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/12/12695621-black-market-cash-for-kidneys-trader-rosenbaum-gets-2-12-years-in-prison?litehttp://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/12/12695621-black-market-cash-for-kidneys-trader-rosenbaum-gets-2-12-years-in-prison?litehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/27/kidney-trade-illegal-operations-whohttp://www.organtransplants.org/understanding/unos/


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whether or not there should be a legal market for kidneys. In the news article, the US the

District Judge handling the case says that she received many letters on Rosenbaums behalf

describing him as a charitable man before beginning his illegal business.11

A relative of one of

the kidney recipients spoke on Rosenbaums behalf during the hearing in New Jersey: My

father was dying and the system was failing us.12

She describes Rosenbaum as a hero who

saved her fathers life. While the other two recipients did not speak on his behalf, it is clear that

he saved peoples lives, despite his intentions.

In accordance with an economic principle, a legal market for kidneys would be a good

way to organize the sale of kidneys and also allow the government to regulate it. Patients who

need a rare type of kidney or have few friends or family willing to donate are left with little to

no options. Circumstances like this cause them to turn to the black market in need for a kidney.

Also, people should have more than one option when deciding how to get a kidney. The current

system puts pressure on the relatives of the patient to become a live donor. While critics of the

free-market idea say that a market for kidneys will decrease the amount of kidneys donated

annually, Blair Kuykendal, an editor at the Daily Beacon, suggests that it would only create an

opportunity for patients with a rare match.13

Research shows that people can lead perfectly

healthy lives with one kidney.14

Currently, the federal government pays for the traveling

expense of willing donors and provides up to $10,000 in tax deductions to the donor. While it is

11Ibid.

12Ibid.

13Blair Kuykendall, Free Market Ideal, Even for Kidneys, The Daily Beacon,

http://utdailybeacon.com/opinion/columns/guest/2012/sep/19/free-market-ideal-even-kidneys/ (Accessed

October 12, 2012)14

Ibid.
http://utdailybeacon.com/opinion/columns/guest/2012/sep/19/free-market-ideal-even-kidneys/http://utdailybeacon.com/opinion/columns/guest/2012/sep/19/free-market-ideal-even-kidneys/


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not a direct form of payment, it shows that donors need an incentive to donate.15

By creating a

market for kidneys, we would be increasing efficiency throughout the US. A person in need of a

kidney would be able to get it while whoever donated it would be compensated.

According to another principle in economics, people would be more willing to donate

their kidney if there was an incentive to do so. In a New York Times article, Alexander Berger

suggests that $50,000 would be an appropriate amount to pay for a kidney.16

However, there

would need to be tight control of who would be able to purchase the kidneys and a safe

environment for transplanting the kidney from the live donor. The same procedure of first

come first serve would still apply. The kidney would be paid for by whoever is covering the

medical expense of the patient, whether it is out of their own pocket or insurance.17

In fact,

Berger speculates that the government would actually be saving money by encouraging a

kidney market and they could save about $100,000 per patient, compared to dialysis. The 1984

National Organ Transplant Act is causing harm to the society it meant to protect. This ban

encourages a black market for kidneys and causes desperate people to sell their kidneys in

dangerous conditions and without a fair payment. In a 1992 a telephone interview involving

1203 adults, the United Network for Organ Sharing found that 48% of those interviewed would

be more willing to donate their organs if there were some sort of compensation.18

This statistic

15Deborah Josefson, United States Starts to Consider Paying Organ Donors, US National Library for Medicine,

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1172054/ (Accessed October 13, 2012)16

Alexander Berger, Why Selling Kidneys Should Be Legal, The New York Times,

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/opinion/why-selling-kidneys-should-be-legal.html?_r=0 (Accessed October

13, 2012)17

Ibid.18

Deborah Josefson, United States Starts to Consider Paying Organ Donors, US National Library for Medicine,

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1172054/ (Accessed October 13, 2012)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1172054/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/opinion/why-selling-kidneys-should-be-legal.html?_r=0http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1172054/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1172054/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/opinion/why-selling-kidneys-should-be-legal.html?_r=0http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1172054/


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furthers the idea that more people are changing their stand on a kidney market and are willing

to become a donor in exchange for compensation.

While a market for kidneys will ideally supply those in need of kidneys with one, there is

always the fear that a wealthy person may persuade a poor person to sell their kidney for an

inadequate amount. While this is understandable, it must be taken into account that those

affected by the 1984 ban are mostly African Americans and the poor. If the government wants

to save those who are dying every year from kidney related diseases they must face trade-offs.

Although a well regulated system is ideal, there will be instances in which shady practices take

place. However, considering the fact that this already happens in black market deals, it would

be more efficient to legalize the practice.

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