foodconsumer.org: Lawsuit Challenges Prohibition of Bone Marrow Compensation

Lawsuit Challenges Prohibition of Bone Marrow Compensation
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admin on 11/09/2009 23:31:00
 
By Rachel Stockton
At the end of October, a lawsuit was filed by the Institute of Justice against
Attorney General Eric Holder.  The suit challenges a law that bans compensation
for transplants; the group feels that bone marrow donation should not come under
the umbrella of the law, which was ratified in the mid-80s.  Here are a few of
their reasons:
*Bone marrow should not be construed to be on a par with solid organ
transplantation, but with other renewable tissue donations ( blood and plasma ),
which are compensated in some instances.
*Bone marrow compatibility is rare; of the 7 million people registered to donate
bone marrow, only 35,000 have been matched and have subsequently gone through
with the donation.
*Thirty percent of those who agree to donate bone marrow back out at the last
minute; the procedure is a painful one.  Because of the compatibility issue as
well as the no-show problem, 2,000 patients die each year while on the waiting
list.
Those opposed to allowing bone marrow compensation have equally sound arguments:
*If they are being compensated, some donors may not be honest about issues that
would exclude them from eligibility.  For example, if a donor who is going to be
paid handsomely for marrow has an IV drug problem or engages in sexually risky
behavior, he or she might very well lie about it, in an effort to gain the
monetary payment.
*Monetary compensation is a set up for extortion attempts by those potential
donors who will “hold out” for the highest bidder.
*Bone marrow donation, if compensated, could lead to a haves vs. have nots
scenario; those who are too financially strapped to pay for a donation would be
unable to get one.
*Those who have already agreed to donate for free would likely not do so, if
others were being compensated for the same thing.
Those who are pressing for compensation say that fears of extortion and
exclusion are moot, since compatibility is so rare to begin with.
The suit alleges that the ban against bone marrow compensation, a renewable
tissue, is a violation of their equal protection rights.
For more information, go to the following website, which  provides the complaint
in its entirety: 
www.ij.org/images/pdf_folder/economic_liberty/NOTA/ij-complaint_nota.p