Selling organs for transplantation.

The need for transplant organs has far outstripped the supply of available cadaveric organs. Hundreds of people on waiting lists, who could be saved by transplantation, die each year. This severe shortage has justified the extension of transplantation to the use of living donors, but there are still not enough organs to meet the need. This paper discusses the justification for changing policies in order to encourage organ donation. It presents reasons for allowing payments to be made to families that donate cadaveric organs. It also presents reasons for allowing payments to be made to living donors, and guidelines for how an ideal policy could be structured.