Imagine a world where living kidney donors are compensated for their life-saving gift. A world where a severe shortage of kidneys doesn't result in the preventable deaths of over a million Americans. In this riveting dialogue, we're joined by four non-directed kidney donors - Ned Brooks, Elaine Perlman, Dr. Matt Harmody, and Cody Maynard who are the founding members of the Coalition to Modify NOTA. This team will help us uncover the implications of the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) of 1984. Together, they propose a life-altering solution that could end the kidney transplant wait list by offering tax credits to donors.

Living kidney donation is the gold standard of kidney care. Living kidneys last on average twice as long as deceased donor kidneys. Only living organ donors can solve the kidney shortage.

One percent of all Federal taxes that are collected is spent on patients in end stage renal disease. Every time someone gets a kidney transplant, an American can not only survive but begin to thrive again while taxpayers save money. In twenty years, the number of living kidney donors declined seven percent while the number of Americans on the kidney wait list doubled. The need for kidneys rises by seven percent per year. One million Americans will have kidney failure by the year 2030.

In today’s podcast episode we will discuss how modifying NOTA could end the transplant wait list.

Show Links

Coalition to Modify NOTA website

Join the Coalition

Bios for the 4 Founders of the Coalition

Most Americans Support Compensating Donors

The Ethics of Transplant by Janet Radcliffe Richards

The Ethics of Rewarding Living Donors symposium video 1, video 2, and video 3

A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Government Compensation of Kidney Donors

Would Government Compensation of Living Kidney Donors Exploit the Poor? An Empirical Analysis

The Terrible Toll of the Kidney Shortage

Removing Disincentives to Kidney Donation: A Quantitative Analysis

Reducing the Shortage of Transplant Kidneys: A Lost Opportunity for the US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

The Government Can Save the Lives of more than 40,000 Kidney Failure Patients Each Year by Compensating Living Kidney Donors

Donor Diaries Website
Donor Diaries on Facebook