El Straits Times informa que el gobierno de Singapur se plantea legalizar las compensaciones económicas por la donación de riñones para paliar la escasez que tiene en vilo a cientos de pacientes en lista de espera para un transplante.
SINGAPORE is considering legalising kidney trading to help meet demand for kidney transplants, the city-state's health minister said on Monday. The Health Ministry will examine the feasibility of providing payments to unrelated donors to augment the supply of kidneys.
Los pacientes a veces deben esperar hasta nueve años para recibir el riñón de alguien fallecido, y muchos mueren al no conseguir el órgano a tiempo.
[A]bout 1,000 new cases of kidney failure are diagnosed every year, with nearly 40 per cent unable to survive the first year.
El Ministro de Sanidad cree que los incentivos económicos pueden incrementar la oferta de riñones y deben ser contemplados como una posible medida aunque sea controvertida.
Mr Khaw said the ministry would review possible changes to current legislation to allow payments for donations from third parties such as those from the charity and religious sectors. Under the proposal, which would need to be approved by Parliament to become law, patients would also get help in finding donors.
'There are desperate patients out there wishing to live and desperately poor people willing to exchange a kidney for a hopefully improved life,' he said. 'Criminalising organ trading does not eliminate it ... it merely breeds a black market.'
Bryan Caplan llama a los burócratas de Singapur "la burocracia más letrada en economía" por su inclinación a promover políticas pro-mercado.
