Transplant Surgeon Argues for a Kidney Market

clipped from blogs.wsj.com Allowing people to sell a kidney could prompt the poor and the desperate to enter a dangerous bargain. To many, the idea just feels creepy. For now, it’s also illegal and widely opposed by the medical establishment. But Arthur Matas, a University of Minnesota doc and former president of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, is pushing to legalize kidney sales, the WSJ reports. The practice “would increase the supply of kidneys, save lives and improve the quality of life for those with end-stage renal disease.” Matas hasn’t come close to winning over the establishment. But as the waiting list for kidneys grows and grows, he does seem to be making headway in some quarters with his campaign to at least study the possibility with a real-world trial. Should the U.S. allow people to sell their kidneys? Read a debate between economists Julio Elias, University of Buffalo, who favors a market-based approach and Harvard’s Alvin Roth, who says organ exchanges might be a better solution.