# US government may pay living people to donate their kidneys **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 15, 2025, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085 "2025-04-15T21:43:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/1 "2025-04-15T21:43:11Z")
I saw a story about this on social media, the End Kidney Deaths Act is being reintroduced: > [@](#): > > Specifically, this legislation will provide a $10,000 refundable tax credit per year for five years ($50,000 total) to living kidney donors who donate kidneys. If enacted, this legislation is expected to save up to 100,000 Americans currently on the waitlist and save taxpayers an estimated $10 to $37 billion. > **[Malliotakis Reintroduces Bipartisan End Kidney Deaths Act](https://malliotakis.house.gov/media/press-releases/malliotakis-reintroduces-bipartisan-end-kidney-deaths-act)** > > (WASHINGTON, DC) - Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) and Congressman Josh Harder (CA-09) introduced the End Kidney Deaths Act, bipartisan legislation that would provide a refundable tax credit to living kidney donors who donate... Good? Bad? Does it have much chance of passing? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/2 "2025-04-15T21:48:05Z")
Why pay for organs when you have so many perfectly good donors disappeared to El Salvador? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/3 "2025-04-15T21:54:25Z")
I have a hard time imagining it make any difference even if it did pass (which I doubt). $10k per year tax credit for five years doesn’t sound like much of a payout for having an organ removed. I suppose it’s designed to help prevent desperate people from seeking a quickly-spent cash payout but the result is a structure that just doesn’t sound attractive. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/4 "2025-04-15T21:54:55Z")
I remember reading a while back that this was being considered in various ways around the world. The trick is to incentivize people to donate, but not create so much economic incentive that someone could be coerced. So in some places they might pay someone just a few hundred dollars (or have some other form of compensation in that range). Sounds like a difficult thing to get right. But I’m cautiously in favor of it if it shortens wait times for recipients. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/5 "2025-04-15T22:00:29Z")
It reminds me of this: > **[The FDA's Lax Oversight of Research in Developing Countries Can Do Harm to...](https://today.uconn.edu/2021/11/the-fdas-lax-oversight-of-research-in-developing-countries-can-do-harm-to-vulnerable-participants/)** > > No on-site inspections, fraudulent data, and patients who didn't know they were participating in a clinical trial ie, a charming approach to exploiting the most vulnerable. Oh. Perhaps more on point: > **[Paid organ donation: the case against](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3291132/)** ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/6 "2025-04-15T22:33:15Z")
_Hi, Mr/Ms Llogphile? This is Cindy, from Dark Satanic Mills Credit Bureau. I’m calling about a payment plan for your outstanding balance with us…_ ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/7 "2025-04-15T22:37:14Z")
$50,000 is too little. They’d have to increase it. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/8 "2025-04-15T22:48:44Z")
Depends on whether poor people’s kidneys are good enough for the richer recipients. With any incentive scheme (or fining / disincentive scheme), the amount _must_ scale with the wealth of the recipient or they have huge disparities in impact. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/9 "2025-04-16T00:00:41Z")
It looks like they tried last year and it didn’t go anywhere. The organ has to go to a non-relative. The idea is cuckoo. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/10 "2025-04-16T00:57:15Z")
Crazy talk. Healthcare barely covers the cost of surgeries on 2 patients and loads of aftercare, now. There’s still that tab. Does the donor still get paid if the kidney fails or the recipiant dies? What about the family of the donor if he dies? Do they get the money? No no no, this is a very slippery slope. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/11 "2025-04-16T01:50:51Z")
It’s only a five-year credit. What do I sell when I need more money? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/12 "2025-04-16T02:37:01Z")
Gosh, how could things go wrong with THIS? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/13 "2025-04-16T03:12:37Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > With any incentive scheme (or fining / disincentive scheme), the amount _must_ scale with the wealth of the recipient or they have huge disparities in impact. Was sort of thinking the same. I dunno what the exact dollar value I’d sell a kidney at but, for a life-changing decision like that I’d need a life-changing amount of cash. Certainly not $10k tax credit per year for five years. But, for someone where $50k would be a life changing amount of money, it might sound more attractive (though even then the five-year period and tax credit in lieu of cash would probably make it a no-go). ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/14 "2025-04-16T03:42:24Z")
One person on each side of the aisle, no support , and a second try at that? This looks like an official “Well, you can’t say I did _nothing_, can you?” act to me. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/15 "2025-04-16T03:42:28Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > It’s only a five-year credit. What do I sell when I need more money? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rVxTsXRjNTw/maxresdefault.jpg "Broken Bells - The Ghost Inside (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVxTsXRjNTw) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Turki-lurki](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turki-lurki/32/7168_2.png) [@Turki-lurki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turki-lurki)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/16 "2025-04-16T04:02:27Z")
This is obscene. Capitalism in its most crass and odious form. You can sell your organs to the government broker, and use the money to pay your student loans! Or maybe not- the government may withhold the payment to cover your back taxes! No matter- it was just a kidney. You have more paired organs to sell! And liver lobes! They regenerate! You can pay off your 75%APR car and credit card loans, common since tRumpie did away with all consumer protection. But don’t even think about selling your sexual services. That would be immoral, and an afront to decency. smh. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/17 "2025-04-16T04:29:15Z")
This might look even uglier politically, though. There’d be societal outrage if the health system paid a rich man $700,000 for his kidney and a poor man only $50,000, even if it makes proportional sense. Also, at a certain price point it wouldn’t be financially worth it for the health system to pay more for a rich man’s kidney, which may be no better quality-wise than someone else’s. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/18 "2025-04-16T08:23:23Z")
Kind of greedy of you to be hogging _two_ corneas… ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/19 "2025-04-16T08:41:27Z")
> [@Turki-lurki](#): > > This is obscene. Capitalism in its most crass and odious form. Agreed. This is moving into horror movie territory. Indeed, one of the episodes in the pilot of the old _Night Gallery_ series, called “Eyes”, is described thusly: > A rich, heartless woman who has been blind from birth blackmails an aspiring surgeon and a man who desperately needs money to give her a pair of eyes which will allow her to see for the first time - even though for only half a day’s time Not even American capitalism is ready for this. Yet. (Total aside, but this wouldn’t actually work. It takes a lot of acclimatization for the brain of someone blind from birth to know how to interpret vision, it’s far more than just the sensors.) ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/20 "2025-04-16T12:12:56Z")
I’m surprised this is even happening; it seems quite far outside the Overton window. And I don’t know what to think. Paying people to donate their organs seems obviously bad, but it would help an awful lot of people. And kidney donation is hardly dystopian in general: plenty of people already donate kidneys, occasionally even to strangers, and the health implications are supposed to be fairly minimal. The planned scheme also addresses some of the objections I would have had: since it’s the government paying, both rich and poor people would benefit, rather than poor people selling their organs to the wealthy. Spreading the payment over five years presumably is to discourage people from making a quick decision to cover an emergency expense, and make them consider the benefits and costs in a more long-term way. And making it a tax credit would discourage the most vulnerable populations like homeless people from applying. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085.md?page=2)