A new study suggests that paying kidney donors with $9,648 can save more patients as people will be more willing to give their kidneys. Thus, it will cut the number of patients on the transplant waiting list and cut the expenses of the healthcare system.
Lianne Barnieh, lead author of the study from the University of Calgary, and her colleagues used a decision analysis modeling to estimate the amount to be paid on the donor. They concluded that if paying the donors would result to a five percent increase on the available kidney for transplants and a $328 savings for the patient.
Paying kidney donors is considered unethical and illegal in the United States, Canada, and other countries.
The researchers predicted that if there will be more people donating their kidneys for the given amount, more savings will be obtained by the patient. A 10 percent increase on the donations would result to a savings of $ 1,582 and $3,888 if it becomes 20 percent.
Barnieh believes that it is about time that the government thinks of other strategies to convince people to give their kidneys especially that the demand is continuously growing while the supply is shrinking. The team conducted a survey in which 65 percent of the participants said that they will be willing to give one of their kidneys if there will be monetary incentives.
"We need more living kidney donors and we need to at least consider paying them," Barnied told MedPage Today. "If nothing else, I think this research may raise awareness and foster a debate about how we can move forward, respecting the laws and ethical considerations."
The research team factored in the costs of dialysis while waiting for the transplant and the actual transplant costs in making their analysis.
The study was published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
