The following bonus episode was previously available only to paying Substack subscribers. We’re now releasing it to the public. My guest in this Substack subscriber-only bonus episode is Sally Satel, an AEI senior fellow and author of many books. Sally has had to undergo two kidney transplants, and her experience with kidney donation has led her to question the way the donation system in the US currently operates. She’s become an advocate of legalizing the (regulated and supervised) sale of kidneys from living donors. While this idea may sound strange, or even ghoulish, on its face, Sally lays out some sensible arguments outlining why such a market is needed, how it might work, and how to prevent it from being abused.
Excellent conversation, sign me up for organ reform advocacy!
One minor quibble, UNOS has the federal contract and they set the standards, the OPOs are actually regional entities some of which are garbage, but some do amazing work and shouldn't be tarred with the same brush.
I was also shocked you didn't address, what I think is the elephant in the ethics room. Many people who need kidneys are in that condition due to uncontrollable medical conditions (Type I diabetes say) but others are in that condition due to their own life choices (poor diet, lack of exercise).
I wonder if Glenn and Sally think that has any bearing on the ethics, or if it presents a moral hazard.
How "smart" people are so ignorant to how Democrats acted during Trumps State of the Unions and call out Republican's for booing Biden during his SOTU ceases to amaze me. For Sally to call out Republicans on this front and call it disrespectful and not constructive... and fails to call out Pelosi for her disgusting ripping the speech stunt or calling out the Squads behavior during Trumps SOTUs causes me to question such bias, blindness to reality, or intentional disregard for truth... sigh.
Have to say as someone sitting at an addiction medicine conference, I am a bit disappointed that there were not any questions on that, as it’s Dr. Satel’s expertise but also a subject that probably has a lot of economic considerations us physicians wouldn’t think about.
But clearly there was plenty else worth discussion.
This was super interesting. I really enjoyed the ethics and philosophy at the heart of the discussion and would love to see more of this type of content from Glenn.
Obviously the way to fast track this is to attach kidney donation as a condition of participation in Biden's student loan forgiveness program, and pay back the loan debts from the money that would have been spent on dialysis via Medicare/Medicaid. Everybody wins!
Excellent conversation, sign me up for organ reform advocacy!
One minor quibble, UNOS has the federal contract and they set the standards, the OPOs are actually regional entities some of which are garbage, but some do amazing work and shouldn't be tarred with the same brush.
I was also shocked you didn't address, what I think is the elephant in the ethics room. Many people who need kidneys are in that condition due to uncontrollable medical conditions (Type I diabetes say) but others are in that condition due to their own life choices (poor diet, lack of exercise).
I wonder if Glenn and Sally think that has any bearing on the ethics, or if it presents a moral hazard.
How "smart" people are so ignorant to how Democrats acted during Trumps State of the Unions and call out Republican's for booing Biden during his SOTU ceases to amaze me. For Sally to call out Republicans on this front and call it disrespectful and not constructive... and fails to call out Pelosi for her disgusting ripping the speech stunt or calling out the Squads behavior during Trumps SOTUs causes me to question such bias, blindness to reality, or intentional disregard for truth... sigh.
Have to say as someone sitting at an addiction medicine conference, I am a bit disappointed that there were not any questions on that, as it’s Dr. Satel’s expertise but also a subject that probably has a lot of economic considerations us physicians wouldn’t think about.
But clearly there was plenty else worth discussion.
This was super interesting. I really enjoyed the ethics and philosophy at the heart of the discussion and would love to see more of this type of content from Glenn.
Obviously the way to fast track this is to attach kidney donation as a condition of participation in Biden's student loan forgiveness program, and pay back the loan debts from the money that would have been spent on dialysis via Medicare/Medicaid. Everybody wins!