Some States Offering Incentives to Prevent Further Organ Shortage

Mar 31, 05:03 AM

Current Headlines: By Laura Klairmont

By Laura Klairmont
The Daily Iowan ( U. Iowa )

(U-WIRE) IOWA CITY, Iowa -- More than 60,000 people in the United States need new kidneys, but only one-third of them will receive them. With the percentage of living kidney donors dropping, the medical community has begun to discuss further incentives for organ donors. But Iowa is one of 10 states that already offers donors tax credits, among other incentives. "There is no dispute that the organ shortage leads to the loss of life," said Daniel Katz, a transplant surgeon at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. From 2004 to 2005, the number of living kidney donors nationwide fell from 6,647 to 6,563, or 1.3 percent, according a 2006 Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients report. The number of kidneys transplanted from deceased donors during the same period increased by 5.3 percent. In January 2006, Iowa passed legislation allowing an organ donor to deduct expenses associated with a transplant from her or his income tax. The law also reimburses such expenses as travel, lodging, and lost wages. The maximum amount of money one can deduct is $10,000. But on the national level, the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act and the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 prohibit the buying and selling of organs in the United States. "The important thing to stress with any policy is how it is going to be regulated and how it is going to be run," said Diane Jeske, a UI associate professor of philosophy who specializes in the study of ethics. Only 13 percent of donors said an income-tax credit was a reason for their donations, according to a study from Canada's National Survey of Giving, Volunteering, and Participating. Meanwhile, 45 percent indicated that themselves, or someone else in their household, intended to claim a tax credit for the organ donation. At present, the sale of organs is illegal in the United States; other countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran allow payment to organ donors. Opponents of fiscal incentives point out that it would be the financially disadvantaged who would be negatively affected by such programs. Also, by setting a price on organs, one risks devaluing human life. "I share the concerns of my colleagues against the donation for payment because of the idea that the poor would be at a disadvantage," Katz said. "Another concern that I share with my colleagues is the fear that a commodization of organs would result in a loss of human dignity." While some medical professionals are worried that the human body could be turned into a commodity, some believe it already has. "In principle, I don't see any reason to object using people for their organs," Jeske said. "Why should we think our claims to our internal organs is different from selling our sperm?"

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