Question

Q.The organ market debate has existed in the health economics field for many decades. The market structure also differs across different countries. For instance, sale of kidneys in the US is illegal and people can only donate a kidney. Even in-kind gifts or compensation that is made to the donating party is considered an illegal activity. However, Iran has a legal market for kidneys. This next discussion forum will ask students to analyze kidney markets and organ markets. 1. Go on Google and research about how a person can sell their kidney in the US and Iran. Explain the process in a few sentences in your own words and describe how it is different between the two countries. 2. What does the demand side of kidney markets look like? Does this market constitute a demand for health or health care? What can you say about the elasticity of demand in this market? Explain. 3. What does the supply side look like for this market? Discuss why kidney suppliers might be different than someone who wants to sell their liver? What about bone marrow? 4. Will there be a shortage of kidneys in a).US. b).Iran c).both or d). neither? Explain. 5. What might be some of the problems facing a legal kidney market like that in Iran? 6. Discuss what you can say about a general organ market (not just kidney market). For instance, how is the kidney market different from bone marrow donation or sperm donation? Should all organs be supplied through donations or should people be allowed to sell at will? Think about any specific regulations that might make things better. Also, think about how some markets might work but other types of organ markets might not work. Discuss each case in detail, and use examples to help your analysis.

Answer 1

Q1,Iran offers their citizens a legal way to sell their kidneys — and Iran is the only country in the world where sale of kidney is legal.The process to sell their kidneys, there is a government foundation registers buyers and sellers, matches them up and sets a fixed price per organ. Since 1993, doctors in Iran have performed more than 30,000 kidney transplants in this way. Whereas in US , the sale of Kidney is illegal and Under the federal National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 (NOTA) -- found in Title 42, section 274e of the U.S. Code -- anyone convicted of buying or selling human organs in the United States faces a five-year prison sentence and/or a fine of up to $50,000.In US in order to become a living kidney donor, the donor has to join his state's online registry for donation of organ through the Donate Life America website at www.donatelife.net.

Q2.From a purely economic viewpoint,there is a huge demand for kidney and at the same time there is a low supply, because though the kidneys can come from a live or deceased donor,but the chances that a kidney will be blood-type and tissue-type well-matched with a patient is very low and not at all available in Kidney exchange market.The elasticity of demand of kidney market is relatively price inelastic ie, there is more demand and less supply.

Q3.As far as Supply side is considered , the supply is less and demand for kidney is huge.On the other hand If you need a liver donor, it could take quite some time. The average wait in the U.S. for a new liver is more than 300 days. It is so difficult to get a new liver from a living donor instead of a deceased one.Most of the patients are waiting for liver transplants from someone who has died, often in an accident. In order for a deceased person's liver to become available for transplant, they must have decided in advance to be an organ donor, or their family must give permission. Therefore the demand for living liver donor is high.Further as far as bone marrow transplant is considered,,each year, approximately thousands of people in the U.S. and in other countries who have been diagnosed with a blood cancer may need a bone marrow transplant. Yet only about only limited numbers of these patients go on to receive a transplant.2 Therefore, nearly 40% of patients do not receive a bone marrow transplant for a variety of reasons, including the inability to find a matched donor.

Q4. Definitely there will be a shortage of kidneys in a).US. and b).Iran c) since the demand of kidneys is huge.

Q5.Some of the problems facing a legal kidney market like that in Iran is that the system hasn’t always worked as think as good. Sellers have learned that they can cut side deals to earn up to thousands more from wealthy Iranians keen to bypass the roughly yearlong wait for a transplant under the government system, Moreover ,Outside the official transplant system, the rumors of a kidney black market offer enticing hope to victims of Iran’s troubles.

Q6.In kidney market and bone marrow market , there is some regulations and process need to followed to get it transplated through a donor, therefore the demad is also high and supply is less, and so simply it is called regulated business and on the other hand the Sperm donation, is an unregulated business, it can be often relied on to make ends meet. There's a reason for that,Good sperm has benefitted from increasing demand. It is also easy to donate, frequently. Men can donate as often as two or three times a week, earning up to $1,200 a month. All organs like Kidney, liver, heart , bone marrow can be supplied through donations, but people should not be allowed to sell at will excpet unregulated donation like sperm or egg donations.