Organ Donation Compensation: Ethics of Paying Living Donors

Introduction: The Wisconsin Senate Bill

A Wisconsin Senate bill asks voters to decide upon a program to compensate living organ donors who choose to donate one or more of their organs. The bill would provide a fully refundable tax credit of $20,000 for donations, serving as an add-on to existing legislation passed in 2004 "which allows living donors in Wisconsin to receive an income tax deduction to recoup donation expenses like travel costs and lost wages" (University of Minnesota.edu, February 2004). The bill is not unique, as other states have introduced legislation to provide some measure of financial support to living organ donors. One example is the Pennsylvania gift-giving program, which awards money to a living donor or to the family of a deceased donor that can be used for reimbursement of food and lodging expenses incurred during the donation process (ABC News, June 16, 2002).

At issue with these and other programs, however, is the moral and ethical dilemma associated with direct financial compensation for the donation of an organ. With over 101,000 individuals waiting for an organ transplant according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) (Rettner, R., August 10, 2009), the consideration of insufficient supply to meet accelerating demand brings the debate over payment to living donors to the forefront.

The Organ Shortage Crisis

According to UNOS, "the primary ethical dilemmas surrounding organ transplantation arise from the shortage of available organs" (University of Minnesota.edu, February 2004). The particulars of this statement are best understood in the context of kidney donation, as "not only is the need for this organ the greatest, but it is one of the few organs that can come from a living donor" (Rettner, R., August 10, 2009). The most recent data reflect that 16,000 kidneys were donated on an annual basis, while there were 80,000 potential candidates for transplant (Rettner, R., August 10, 2009).