Monday, November 26, 2018

Rationing Of Healthcare: A Change In Who Gets Kidneys

No matter how you cut it, rationing of healthcare has been an ongoing issue since the very beginning of man’s ability to provide it. In the U.S. there are exponentially more people needing kidney transplants than there are kidneys. It used to be that those longest on the list were first to get the kidney. Considerations are now underway to change that policy to cater to who is the “best fit” for the available kidney – as far as getting the most mileage out of it. What do you think?

Any way you cut it, there are advantages and disadvantages. Should kidneys be given to the highest bidders? Currently, the policy resembles college sports: Only the people who set up the “game” (i.e., doctors and the hospital) make money off the kidney. 

I say: Set up loose guidelines that take into consideration a number of factors (i.e., age, health, habits, prognosis, etc.) and then the allocate them in a lottery among those who scored highest.

Loren M. Lambert © September 20, 2012

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