The Legalization of the Sale of Human Organs- Dan Hickey

An organ shortage exists worldwide, with some people estimating that an average of 18 people a day die while waiting for a transplant.  The formal process in the United States, and most other countries, is inefficient and ineffective.  One interesting solution to this can be found through the policies of Iran.  Iran has legalized the sale of human organs, using the government as an intermediary between buyers and sellers.  Australia and Singapore are going through similar processes now, as well.

A policy such as this has several economic and social benefits.  First and most obviously, it would save lives.  Providing citizens with a monetary incentive would increase the amount of donors of organs.  This sort of incentive program would raise supply to match the demand of the market.  Additionally, this legalization would reduce the amount of black market transactions.  Modern medicine has come a far way, but there are still many failures when the process is done on the black market.  Transplants are much safer when done legally.  Furthermore, prices are inefficiently driven up on the black market.  Iran estimates that the cost of a legal $2,000 kidney is $160,000 on the black market.  Given this, one concern of this policy is the exploitation of the poor.  They are most likely to need the benefits and might unhealthily abuse the system.