Steven Thorpe

Israel will soon become the first country in the world to give people who agree to become organ donors priority treatment if they should require an organ transplant themselves.

Officials hope the incentive will increase the supply of available organs — of which there is a shortage across the world, but especially in Israel, where only one in 10 adults carries a donor card.

This is sure to be a closely watched change, as most countries have tried different measures to increase willingness to donate organs. Here’s a rundown of some of those efforts, which include (1) creating markets for organs; (2) making all citizens organ donors by default, unless they explicitly exempt themselves; and (3) investing in more health care infrastructure.

Some countries have proposed legalizing the sale of some organs for money, as is the case in Iran. But such policies are controversial, and not just because people have moral qualms about putting a price tag on an item as precious as a healthy kidney. Some scholars have written about the fear of “crowding out” altruistic motives for donating organs.

Continue reading – http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/how-can-we-encourage-organ-donation/

Washington

A report released today by the Congressional Budget Office has set out what could be a decisive fault line in the Senate debate over healthcare reform.

Proponents say the report shows healthcare reform will do no harm to Americans’ pocketbooks. Critics say that report shows the US is about to undertake a massive and uncertain reorganization of the healthcare industry for “no significant savings.”

In truth, there’s no fixed answer to what is emerging as the biggest question on healthcare reform: How will proposed changes affect the premiums people pay for health insurance.

It depends on how people purchase insurance, according to the report released today.

For Americans with employer-provided insurance, changes in the cost of coverage will be modest. For those who buy insurance on their own – and qualify for government subsidies – costs could go down up to 59 percent.

Continue reading – http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/11/30/will-healthcare-reform-drive-costs-down-a-little-report-says/

Waiting as of 10/14/09 – 104,259

Transplants performed in 2009 – 16,679

This information is updated daily by UNOS – http://www.unos.org/data/default.asp?displayType=usData