Would you donate a kidney for $50,000? This pilot program is gaining national momentum
(QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Right now, more than 100,000 Americans are on the waiting list for a lifesaving organ transplant. The majority of those people are in need of a kidney.
There is now a group advocating for the federal government to pay people for their kidneys. It sounds crazy, considering the federal government has long-banned organ sales, but there is a pilot program that is picking up national momentum.
The program would pay donors thousands of dollars to donate their kidney.
The program is called the ‘End Kidney Deaths Act.’
It essentially would allow the federal government to provide a $50,000 refundable tax credit to living donors who give a kidney to a stranger. The recipients would be people who have been waiting the longest on the kidney waitlist.
How would this money get paid out?
People who donate would get paid out over five years in $10,000 increments. These payments would likely be given around tax season.
The thought process here is that this would deter people from agreeing to this solely because they’re trying to make a ‘quick buck,’ and then might end up regretting it later.
Another reason why advocates are pushing for this is because they say it will also save taxpayer money. Every year, the group said the United States government spends nearly $50 billion on dialysis treatments for patients.
It claims treatment is far more expensive than transplantation.
Is there opposition to the act?
There absolutely is. From QCN’s research, the most common opposition out there is that this could cause exploitation.
There is a concern that if people are given the option to accept large amounts of cash, they are going to go for it, even if it means giving up an organ, and that could lead to regret.
Another concern is that this could have a ripple effect and fuel the black market in other countries. There have also been arguments made that more funding should go towards the process of getting organs from people who have died.
In 2021, just under 20,000 kidneys were donated from deceased people.
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