Tick, Tick, Tick
We've already done to organs what Debra Ortiz wants to do to human eggs (see item below). The result: thousands of unnecessary deaths. My friend Sally Satel takes on "death's waiting list" in an op-ed in today's NYT:
March was National Kidney Month. I did my part: I got a new one. My good fortune, alas, does not befall nearly enough people, and the federal government deserves much of the blame.
Today 70,000 Americans are waiting for kidneys, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, which maintains the national waiting list. Last year, roughly 16,000 people received one (about 40 percent are from living donors, the others from cadavers). More are waiting for livers, hearts and lungs, which mostly come from deceased donors, bringing the total to about 92,000. In big cities, where the ratio of acceptable organs to needy patients is worst, the wait is five to eight years and is expected to double by 2010. Someone on the organ list dies every 90 minutes. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Read the whole thing (permanent link on AEI site here). Sally has organized a half-day conference on solutions to the organ crisis for June 12.