How Do You Find More Donor Organs? Pay People For Their Body Parts

A Canadian study probing the modern feasibility of a relatively old idea (we’ve discussed it previously at length here) has come to a somewhat unexpected conclusion: most people really don’t have a problem with paying for human organs. Dr. Braden Manns of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta and Institute for Public Health sent a questionnaire around to more than 2.500 public health workers and people affected with kidney disease. The results: people seem to think it’s okay to pay for body parts.

The results of the study found that 70 percent of those surveyed think financial incentives are acceptable in cases where the donor is deceased. That number drops to 40 percent for a living donor (still a pretty high number, considering). Further studies are being done–and we’re not quite clear on the methodology here–to determine if financial incentives might actually translate into more available organs for those in need of a transplant.