El pasado junio destacaba en una entrada que el Gobierno de Singapur se estaba planteando legalizar las compensaciones económicas a los donantes de riñones para paliar la escasez que tiene en vilo a cientos de pacientes. La propuesta del Gobierno ha sido recientemente aprobada por el comité de bioética y reformas liberalizadoras se implementarán a principios de año.
Singapore is to allow compensation for kidney transplants and for eggs. A government proposal has been approved by a bioethics committee and legislation will be introduced early next year. The committee declared that reimbursement for kidney donation was acceptable as long as it is not "an undue inducement, nor amounting to organ trading".
What exactly this means for kidneys is difficult to fathom. According to the BMJ, a sum of S$10,000 was mentioned. According to the Straits Times, the health minister, Mr Khaw Boon Wan, mentioned "at least a five-figure sum, possibly even six-figure" as appropriate reimbursement. This would include expenses, such as transport and medical costs, as well as loss of earnings. Also, the donor should be covered for follow-up medical costs and higher insurance premiums as a result of losing a kidney.
Alex Tabarrok, uno de los economistas más implicados en esta causa médica, informa de la noticia en Marginal Revolution. Tabarrok resalta también que la National Kidney Foundation está reconsiderando su tradicional oposición a compensar a los donantes de órganos.
Para una defensa de los incentivos económicos en el ámbito de la donación de órganos leed entero este artículo de Tabarrok en Econlib: Life-Saving Incentives: Consequences, costs and solutions to the organ shortage.
