US Human Organ Policy II

Today in Health Economics we will be looking at the US human organ policy by reading an article by Kaserman on the economics of the US human organ policy (.pdf). While I have written about the economics of the US human organ policy before, I wanted to provide some additional information from two sources. The first is from the Atlantic magazine, which addresses a number of policies (that are not focused on strictly economic principles) and second is an additional way to get a organ donation - be famous and go on Larry King and get offers from very altruistic fans.

I would encourage you to read both approaches - the economic approach presented by Kaserman in the Regulation article and the more altruistic approach presented in the Atlantic article, and decide for yourself as to which approach would reduce human suffering in mass the most.

While I would advocate the economic approach - go figure - there are some significant issues that should be addressed in allowing an economic approach to health care, such as providing incentives for the ethical treatment of potential donors. See this short article where things go bad even without a market for human organs.