UK asks: Should organ donors be paid?
Source: Agencies |
April 21, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BRITONS are being asked if people should get cash incentives to donate eggs and sperm, and whether the funeral expenses of organ donors should be paid in a bid to address a severe shortage in supply.
Britain has one of the lowest rates of organ donation, at just 13 per million of population compared with 35 per million in Spain where a "presumed consent" system operates, which effectively makes everyone a potential donor unless they opt out.
The UK medical ethics think-tank the Nuffield Council on Bioethics has launched a public consultation to look at whether people think it is right that donors should receive payment.
Paying people to donate most organs, beyond offering modest expenses, is currently illegal in Britain but a shortage has forced many to seek treatment overseas.
About 8,000 people need an organ transplant in Britain each year and hundreds die waiting for a suitable donor.
Professor Marilyn Strathern, chairwoman of the council's inquiry into the issue, said: "We could try to increase the number of organ donors by providing stronger incentives, such as cash, paying funeral costs or priority for an organ in future, but would this be ethical?"
The council said incentives could be non-financial, such as offering letters of thanks, T-shirts, mugs or vouchers, or allowing future donors to jump the queue for transplants should they later need one.
In 2008, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would not rule out bringing in a "presumed consent" scheme.
However the government's Organ Donation Taskforce said there was no evidence this would increase donations.
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