Friends,

Sorry for the lack of emails lately, but our distribution list has grown so large (over 325 names) that our current email program is rebelling.  Hence, the switch to a new email program with the unlikely name of Buttondown.  Among other benefits, it makes it easier to unsubscribe from the list if you are so inclined -- which I hope you are not because the purpose of the list is to try to save more than 40,000 American kidney failure patients each year from needlessly suffering on dialysis and dying prematurely.

Everyone currently on this distribution list has expressed an interest in this subject, the great majority because they are sympathetic to our efforts to save those lives by having the government compensate living kidney donors, plus a very small number who are opposed to compensation but are open-minded.

Appended at the end of this email are two versions of our argument in favor of the government compensating living kidney donors -– a short one and a long one.  In both expositions, we argue that the death toll due to the kidney shortage is much higher than generally assumed (about 115 per day which is an order of magnitude greater than the estimate made by the Health Resources and Services Administration).  And we explain that the basic cause of the kidney shortage is the prohibition on compensating organ donors in the National Organ Transplant Act.  Thus, one effective way to end the kidney shortage is to have the government compensate living kidney donors (we estimate about $100,000 in 2026 dollars would be sufficient).

As a very important first step toward implementing this solution, a bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives -- the End Kidney Deaths Act (H.R. 2687) -- to compensate non-directed kidney donors $50,000 over five years as part of an experimental trial.  Through the brilliant and tireless leadership of Elaine Perlman, this bill has garnered the co-sponsorship of 58 members of Congress, which is a lot.

Once the efficacy of compensating kidney donors has been demonstrated, the amount of compensation can be increased to $100,000 and extended to all living kidney donors, saving the lives of more than 40,000 Americans each year (and, as a bonus, saving taxpayers about $7 billion per year because transplantation is much less expensive than dialysis therapy, and the government is currently committed to pay for both.)

For a complete discussion of the status of this political effort, see the web site: EndKidneyDeathsAct.org.

For a succinct explanation of our argument in favor of compensating donors, please see my 15-minute video presentation to a University-of-Chicago-hosted virtual symposium on "The Future of Living Donor Kidney Transplantation":

McCormick F, “The Government Could Save More than 40,000 Kidney Failure Patients from Premature Death Each Year by Compensating Living Kidney Donors”:

For a much longer and more detailed explanation of our argument (including a 35-page appendix) see our article in a leading health economics journal (expressed in 2020 dollars).

McCormick F, Held PJ, Chertow GM, Peters TG, Roberts JP.  Projecting the Economic Impact of Compensating Living Kidney Donors in the United States: Cost-Benefit Analysis Demonstrates Substantial Patient and Societal Gains.  Value in Health, 2022-12-01, Volume 25, Issue 12, Pages 2028-2033.   

https://www.clinicalkey.com/#!/content/playContent/1-s2.0-S109830152201957X?returnurl=null&referrer=null

Many thanks for your continued interest in and support of our efforts.

Cordially,

Frank

(My apologies for any technical glitches in this letter as we get the new email distribution system up and running.)