Financial Incentives for Anatomical Gifts

In Death’s Waiting List, NY Times, May 15, 2006, Sally Satel describes her personal experience with being an organ recipient.  She concludes that, “If we really want to increase the supply of organs, we need to try incentives — financial and otherwise.”   Ms. Satel also explains:

One [possible initiative] is the popular and effective European practice of “presumed consent” in which citizens are considered donors at death unless they sign an anti-donor (or opt-out) card.

Another possibility [is] using incentives in a regulated market. One model resembles a “futures” market in cadaver organs. A potential donor could receive compensation — outright payment, a sizable contribution to a charity of his choice or lifetime health insurance — in installments before death or to his estate afterwards in exchange for permission to recover his organs at death.