Death by Wait List

For the first time, more than 10,000 people in the United States are waiting for an organ transplant. According to the Wall Street Journal, more than 6,000 of them will die this year. The irony is that the biggest impediment to increasing organ donation is a federal mandate put in place to eliminate black market organ trading. That legislation was so broadly written that it reduced organ donation across the board, even when the rewards for giving were perfectly legal. Now Senator Arlen Specter has drafted a bill which attempts to encourage the use of tax deductions as a reward for organ donation, while at the same time strengthening the laws that would punish organ traffickers.