# 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:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/21 "2025-04-16T13:00:57Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > , and the health implications are supposed to be fairly minimal I wonder about that. Both of the people i know who had a kidney surgically removed (one had a large benign tumor clinging to her kidney, and the other donated his kidney to his adopted sister) developed kidney disease 20 years later, which is farther out than most studies follow, but well within the expected future lifespan of the typical kidney donor. ---
**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 16, 2025, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/22 "2025-04-16T13:34:34Z")
My late wife lost function in one kidney as the cancer was slowly eating her guts. The loss didn’t really affect her near term, but the docs were clear that were she to live long enough it would become a problem. As sadly expected, she did not live long enough. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/23 "2025-04-16T16:43:57Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > It’s only a five-year credit. What do I sell when I need more money? You have 2 kidneys. For me, I’d want the full experience and wake up from surgery in a bathtub full of ice. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/24 "2025-04-16T16:56:50Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > 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. I’m not sure, but I think a “refundable” tax credit means that even if your income is so low that you don’t pay taxes (or owe less than 10K), they will give you the cash. So yeah, there are a lot of people out there who will make extremely poor choices for $10,000. ---
**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 16, 2025, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/25 "2025-04-16T17:02:42Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > I’m not sure, but I think a “refundable” tax credit means that even if your income is so low that you don’t pay taxes (or owe less than 10K), they will give you the cash. [**Ayup.**](https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/refundable-tax-credits) ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/26 "2025-04-16T17:08:52Z")
Sounds like a wonnerful idear; sign me up for _two_ donations!.. … 🤔 ---
**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 17, 2025, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/27 "2025-04-17T11:25:23Z")
The good news about doing the double donation for $20K / year is that you will actually get a lifetime income out of it. ---
**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 17, 2025, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/28 "2025-04-17T11:32:56Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > 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. This is like saying both rich and homeless people alike have the choice to sleep under bridges if they wish - the financial incentive of $10k to a rich person might as well be zero. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/29 "2025-04-17T11:42:15Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > have the choice to sleep under bridges Reported! Trolling ---
**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 17, 2025, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/30 "2025-04-17T12:01:55Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I wonder about that. Both of the people i know who had a kidney surgically removed (one had a large benign tumor clinging to her kidney, and the other donated his kidney to his adopted sister) developed kidney disease 20 years later, which is farther out than most studies follow, but well within the expected future lifespan of the typical kidney donor. I was wondering about that too. I found a couple of long term follow ups and they didn’t show anything too terrible, but the unknowns would tend to put me off donating to a stranger. > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > I’m not sure, but I think a “refundable” tax credit means that even if your income is so low that you don’t pay taxes (or owe less than 10K), they will give you the cash. So yeah, there are a lot of people out there who will make extremely poor choices for $10,000. How many homeless people are filing taxes, though? > [@Mangetout](#): > > This is like saying both rich and homeless people alike have the choice to sleep under bridges if they wish - the financial incentive of $10k to a rich person might as well be zero. Sure, but it does mean both rich and poor people can receive the donations, whereas in a free market scenario, the rich would outbid the poor. ---
**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 17, 2025, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/31 "2025-04-17T12:06:50Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > My late wife lost function in one kidney as the cancer was slowly eating her guts. The loss didn’t really affect her near term, but the docs were clear that were she to live long enough it would become a problem. As sadly expected, she did not live long enough. I’m sorry, @LSLGuy . It must have been horrible for both of you. ---
**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 17, 2025, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/32 "2025-04-17T14:42:37Z")
Ah, as in being recipients of the kidney? Yeah, I guess that part could be notionally fair, although in a system where healthcare itself (ie diagnosis of the requirement for a donor kidney) is not freely available to everyone equally, I doubt it would play out that way. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/33 "2025-04-17T15:31:02Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > How many homeless people are filing taxes, though? It’s not hard to fill out a tax form if you have no income and no assets. That wouldn’t be a barrier. I would be in favor of a government program to reimburse living kidney donors for their lost income (medical expenses are already covered). It takes at least a couple months to recover from that surgery, more if you have a physically demanding job. So the financial disincentive to donate is currently quite significant. This would mean that rich donors would get bigger checks than poor ones, but I think in this case that’s a reasonable policy. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/34 "2025-04-17T15:40:46Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > It’s not hard to fill out a tax form if you have no income and no assets. That wouldn’t be a barrier. During the roughly two decades I was on social security disability. I was not required to file taxes. I don’t remember what year there was an economic stimulus payment to certain people. You had to file taxes to get it. I had no job. It took five minutes to file. ---
**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 17, 2025, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/35 "2025-04-17T16:06:49Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Ah, as in being recipients of the kidney? Yeah, I guess that part could be notionally fair, although in a system where healthcare itself (ie diagnosis of the requirement for a donor kidney) is not freely available to everyone equally, I doubt it would play out that way. Yeah, I didn’t want to say it would be completely fair since I don’t know how this works in America. Do you get free dialysis even if you don’t have insurance? Can you get on the transplant list? But it wouldn’t be any less fair than existing options. > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > It’s not hard to fill out a tax form if you have no income and no assets. That wouldn’t be a barrier. Don’t you need an address, though? I guess it doesn’t really matter - they could just reject homeless people and anyone else they consider too vulnerable. > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > I would be in favor of a government program to reimburse living kidney donors for their lost income (medical expenses are already covered). It takes at least a couple months to recover from that surgery, more if you have a physically demanding job. So the financial disincentive to donate is currently quite significant. This would mean that rich donors would get bigger checks than poor ones, but I think in this case that’s a reasonable policy. I suspect it would turn into a way to pay donors unofficially, the same way it has for surrogate mothers in some places, but it would make sense. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/36 "2025-04-17T16:57:53Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Don’t you need an address, though? I guess it doesn’t really matter - they could just reject homeless people and anyone else they consider too vulnerable. I don’t know for sure about taxes. I work in a virtual call center helping callers apply for and renew medical benefits. We used to handle food stamps as well. For medical assistance and food stamps, we just need an address where we can send mail. The overwhelming majority of homeless applicants did have a designeted address for mail. ---
**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 19, 2025, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085/37 "2025-04-19T22:52:06Z")
This sounds like a case where a murky-and-hard-to-define “distastefulness” could stand in the way of two big problems being solved in a practical way: - People who desperately need organs finally getting them, and - People who desperately need money finally getting it. I’m all in favor of paid organ donation - but I think the offered sum of $50,000 for a kidney is way too little. That’s my sole objection - price. I have no objection on grounds of morality; I think it’s perfectly moral. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-government-may-pay-living-people-to-donate-their-kidneys/1017085.md?page=1)