By Jeff Stier, Esq.
Posted: Tuesday, September 4, 2007

LETTER
Publication Date: September 4, 2007

This letter appeared on Sept. 4, 2007 in the Science section of the New York Times:

To the Editor: 

History shows that efforts to increase altruistic organ donations are not enough. Incentives, be they monetary or more innovative, have the potential to jump-start a failing system.

One program could help find a matched kidney donor for a spouse, in exchange for the healthy spouse’s donation of a kidney to someone else. While all incentive plans must pass ethical muster, they must also be weighed against the ethics of the status quo, which complacently leaves patients to die while waiting for an organ.

Jeff Stier
New York
The writer is associate director of the American Council on Science and Health.