New Kidney Donation Model Suggested

Wisconsin Public Radio | Shamane Mills

A University of Wisconsin think tank is suggesting a regulated system of live kidney sales that is intended to promote donation of an organ in high demand. Currently 40 percent of those needing a kidney get it from a relative or friend. But sometimes they can't---the living donor and patient are medically incompatible. Strangers are sometimes paired; ensuring each couple gets the needed kidney. This creates a "chain" of donors; however that chain doesn't get very long says UW-Madison professor David Weimer with the La Follette School of Public Affairs, "The problem is, there are few altruistic donors. We're talking a couple hundred a year."

Weimer is proposing a system to get more donor kidneys by paying for the first one. The recipient of that kidney would then have a friend or relative give on and on it goes creating a donation chain. Under Weimer's proposal, the federal government would pay for kidneys that would be purchased and distributed by a nonprofit group and given to existing transplant centers who had the longest list of donor "chains". He said there would be strict rules to prevent exploitation of poor people from selling a kidney to make money, "In other words, make sure the person knew everything about the transaction. If someone said they were going to donate you would allow them to withdraw at any point up until the actual donation."

The World Health Organization opposes commercial organ sales; Weimer says his plan wouldn't be a direct purchase of a kidney. He predicts more people will need kidney transplants in the future. He says risk factors for renal disease, like obesity, are growing while the supply of cadaver kidneys is likely to dwindle as the nation gets better at preventing fatal car accidents.