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23 December 2009

No Give, No Take in Israel

via Marginal Revolution by Alex Tabarrok on 12/22/09

In January, Israel will become the first country in the world to give people who sign their organ donor cards points pushing them up the transplant list should they one day need a transplant.  Points will also be given to transplant candidates whose first-degree relatives have signed their organ donor cars or whose first-degree relatives were organ donors.

In the case of kidneys, for example, two points (on a 0-18 point scale) will be given if the candidate had three or more years previous to being listed signed their organ card.  One point will be given if a first-degree relative had signed and 3.5 points if a first-degree relative had previously donated.

In Entrepreneurial Economics I argued for a point allocation system like this--which I called a "no give, no take" system--as a way to increase the incentive to sign one's organ donor card.  One advantage of a no-give, no take system over paying for organs is that most people find this type of system to be fair and just--those who are willing to give are the first to receive should they one day be in in need.  

The new policy will be widely advertised in Israel and will be transitioned into place beginning in January.  I think this new policy is very important.  If organ donation rates increase in Israel, I expect that other countries will quickly follow suit.

By the way, is it peculiar that the two countries in the world with the best organ donor systems are now Israel and Iran?

Hat tip to Dave Undis whose Lifesharers group (I am an advisor) is working on implementing a similar system in the United States.

Posted via email from the Un-Official Southwestern PA Re-Entry Coalition Blog

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