Posts Tagged ‘organ donation’

A new survey of Americans’ perception of organ donation has yielded some interesting results. Among the misconceptions include the notion that there’s a black market in the US in which people can buy and sell organs, or that doctors won’t try as hard to save someone’s life if that person is an organ donor. The number of people in the US needing organ donation has risen to more than 100,00 and, on the average, 18 people die each day while waiting for an organ. However, only 38% of drivers license holders are registered as organ donors.

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Selling or buying organs is illegal in Singapore and carries a penalty of up to 12 months’ jail time, or a fine of up to $7,405, or both. However, the Asian country is considering something radically new in an attempt to meet the needs of its citizens. The country is set to review the possibility of allowing its Health Ministry to legally compensate kidney donors in order to increase the number of available kidneys that are needed each year for those on transplant waiting lists. “There are desperate patients out there wishing to live and desperately poor people willing to exchange a kidney for a hopefully improved life,” said Khaw Boon Wan, Singapore’s Minister for Health. “We should not reject any idea just because it is radical or controversial. We may be able to find an acceptable way to allow a meaningful compensation for some living, unrelated kidney donors, without breaching ethical principles or hurting the sensitivities of others.” Each year hundreds of thousands die on organ transplant lists while waiting for organs that never arrive in time. Could Singapore pave the way to a possible solution? What do you think? Full story.

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