Altruism Exchanges and the Kidney Shortage
35 Pages Posted: 17 Jan 2013 Last revised: 25 Dec 2014
Date Written: January 16, 2013
Abstract
Not enough kidneys are donated each year to satisfy the demand from patients who need them. Strong moral and legal norms interfere with market-based solutions. To improve the supply of kidneys without violating these norms, we propose legal reforms that would strengthen the incentive to donate based on altruistic motives. We propose that donors be permitted to donate kidneys in exchange for commitments by recipients or their benefactors to engage in charitable activity or to donate funds to charities chosen by donors. And we propose that charities be permitted to create Altruism Exchanges, which would permit large numbers of altruists to make charitable exchanges with each other, including but not limited to kidney donations. Altruism Exchanges would solve two significant problems with the current system of voluntary kidney donations: the risk of default and the lack of liquidity.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Harmonization, Preferences, and the Calculus of Consent in Commercial and Other Law
By Saul Levmore
-
Excessive Litigation by Business Users of Free Internet-Platform Services
-
Mistake Under the Common European Sales Law
By Ariel Porat
-
International Paretianism: A Defense
By Eric A. Posner and David A. Weisbach
-
International Law and the Limits of Macroeconomic Cooperation
By Eric A. Posner and Alan Sykes
-
Reverse Regulatory Arbitrage: An Auction Approach to Regulatory Assignments
By M. Todd Henderson and Frederick Tung
-
The Role of Keyword Advertising in Competition among Rival Brands
By David S. Evans and Elisa V. Mariscal