Doreen Flynn, et al VS U.S. Atoorney General: Compensation for Marrow Donors

[Gwynplaine]

This story is a bit late now but I still think it's interesting and worthwhile. A lawsuit brought against the U.S. attorney general on behalf of families and groups that wanted to compensate blood marrow donors was upheld in the 9th circuit court:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellnes...ry?id=15076341

http://ij.org/about/4200

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/12/...rs-court-says/


http://www.ij.org/images/clients/doreenmed.jpg

Some of the plaintiffs in the case are parents of children with diseases, such as leukemia, that can be deadly without bone marrow transplants. Another plaintiff is a doctor and bone marrow transplant expert who said at least one in five of his patients die because no matching bone marrow donor can be found. Yet another has mixed-race children, for whom matched donors are particularly scarce. Matches for African Americans are particularly hard to find.

Opponents argue that providing payments for bone marrow could make transplants more widely available to the rich than to people with less money, that poor people could be exploited to sell marrow, or that payments might spur an uptick in the existing market of organ thefts.

Proponents of paying donors argue that there aren't enough matches in the National Bone Marrow Program registry, and providing incentives would allow more life-saving matches to be made.
The plaintiffs in the case argued that bone marrow donation is not so different from blood, plasma, sperm, or egg donation, which are not protected under the National Organ Transplant Act.

Now, as a result of this legal victory, not only will the pilot programs the plaintiffs looked to create be considered legal, but any form of compensation for marrow donors would be legal within the boundaries of the Ninth Circuit, which includes California, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and various other U.S. territories.

“Every year, nearly 3,000 Americans die because they cannot find a matching bone marrow donor, but the federal government has made it illegal to do the one thing that will make finding donors easier: paying them,” explained Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Jeff Rowes, the lead lawyer on the case. “Today’s decision will put a stop to this irrational prohibition, and it could save thousands of lives in the process.”

Would you consider donating bone-marrow if some form of compensation is involved?

[Mazmaz]

Oh yea let's get the free market up in this bitch instead of giving everyone the same opportunity to receive. Can't wait for people to start paying for organs!

[hey]

Where can i sell my marrow, and how much will i get for it?

[Xantavia]

I have mixed feelings on this. I do think you should be able to sell organs if you want. However, I don't see it turning out as intended. The tin-foil hat part of me sees this becoming just another way for poor people to get screwed out of life saving procedures, depending on who is paying. Is it the individual receiving the transplant, or the guys health insurance (and we all know how they love spending money)

[hey]

I have mixed feelings on this. I do think you should be able to sell organs if you want. However, I don't see it turning out as intended. The tin-foil hat part of me sees this becoming just another way for poor people to get screwed out of life saving procedures, depending on who is paying. Is it the individual receiving the transplant, or the guys health insurance (and we all know how they love spending money)

The obvious answer is to maintain a separate list of organ donors, and organ sellers. The donated organs would be distributed as is, and the rest are sold to the highest bidder.

Duh.

[Xno Kappa]

Didn't Steve Jobs get a liver transplant when he was pretty much considered dead in a year or two? Shit seems to already happen, might as well make it legal so it can be regulated.

[Churchill]

Worrying about whether or not rich people will benefit more is silly if more people would die without this than with.

[Vandole]

Dude, if they wanna pay me to give bone marrow i'll do it if the price is right

Spoiler: show

and if im HEAVILY sedated.

[Kerberoz]

Didn't Steve Jobs get a liver transplant when he was pretty much considered dead in a year or two? Shit seems to already happen, might as well make it legal so it can be regulated.

It happens a lot; they usually have to take a quick "business" trip to the third world, just like with child prostitution.

[hey]

Didn't Steve Jobs get a liver transplant when he was pretty much considered dead in a year or two? Shit seems to already happen, might as well make it legal so it can be regulated.

Rich people don't get priority, they are just able to get on 20 different lists.

[MaachaQ]

I already registered as a marrow donor years ago, it was offered when I donated blood one time. I've never been called as a match, but I'd have done it for free. The option to be paid for your trouble if you happen to match someone should get many more people to sign up as possible donors, making the chances to save lives much more likely. You're not supposed to be able to choose who to donate to, it's supposed to go to the best match or the highest on the list, but I'm sure some people pay to get to the top of the list anyway. Adding this payment to donors won't change anything for the black market, it should help save many many lives for people currently playing by the rules and dying on the waiting list.

[kuronosan]

I have no issues with this whatsoever. We need more marrow donors.

I would take issue with it if the marrow went to rich snarky assholes who are terminally ill and have no chance of living. Then again, I feel that way about all donor programs.

[Pikarya]

Nothing wrong here. If anything its currently holding back medical.

[Ghost_Wheel22]

I like how that slope of getting paid for blood marrow donations went to selling your fucking liver on the black market.

You get paid to donate blood or plasma, how would marrow donation any different?

[Zeb]

How soon until I can sell a kidney?

[Khamsin]

How does selling plasma work? You get paid a little bit of cash and a cookie when you donate plasma, and you never talk to whoever ends up getting it. You just get paid at the donation site.

Why not set this up the same way? You sell your marrow to some central marrow-holding authority with no power to name a recipient. You simply add your marrow to the pool, for a stipend. On the other end, recipients get marrow the same way they always have, only there's more marrow sitting in the pool now. Problem solved.

Just don't allow person-to-person sale of marrow, so that rich people can't put out an ad saying "I need XXX type marrow! Reward: $$$". Keep it restricted, all sales are made to the marrow bank people at the time of donation, without a particular recipient in mind.

[Yabby]

I've given bone marrow before, and the cost to do it again would be over the top... that shit hurt.

[Dimmauk]

My wife donated bone marrow once, will she get back pay?

[Salodin]

I've given bone marrow before, and the cost to do it again would be over the top... that shit hurt.

Yeah I was going to say, isn't donating marrow a fucking painful process? If I have the chance to do it, and get paid for it, it better be the top dollar that only the rich can afford.

[Clash Perez]

Depends on the method. There are two main types of donation, one of which is less painful.

I donated via plasmopherisis, after having been given injections for a week to boost the number of blood stem cells floating about in my blood. It was an uncomfortable six hours in a hospital bed with tubes in my arms, but the recovery was almost immediate. Beats getting a hole drilled into a major bone.

Which type is requested depends on the doctor and the situation.