In an open letter addressed to Barack Obama, the 300 or so co-signatories comprising doctors, religious leaders and ethicists entreated the President to rethink the current organ donation system in the United States. Lamenting the fact that too few people undergo organ transplant and that the system has proved to discriminate against poor populations, the authors including experts from acclaimed universities such as Harvard, Columbia and Princeton, want the Obama administration to tackle the subject.
They are asking in particular for a “more regulated approach” comprising, for instance, proposals for “long-term health insurance, tax credits or retirement contributions” as opposed to ready cash for those who donate their organs. The funeral costs of those wishing to donate their organs after their death could be paid for by this type of incentive.
Generally speaking, the “general public” should be encouraged to become donors bearing in mind that “donating an organ does not fall disproportionately on people with lower incomes”, explained the authors of the open letter.
Le Parisien 12/11/2014 – China Post (Kerry Sheridan) 13/11/214