In Canada, more than 70% of 2,004 members of the public, 40% of 339 health professionals, and 40% of 268 people with or affected by renal disease support the offering of financial incentives to increase kidney donations.
However, only 45%, 14%, and 27%, respectively, support monetary payments for living donors. Overall, reimbursement of funeral expenses for deceased donors and a tax break for living donors were deemed the most acceptable incentives. The findings of the survey, by Lianne Barnieh, PhD, of the University of Calgary in Alberta, and colleagues, where published online in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
In a press release issued by the journal, Dr. Barnieh observed: “We did not find evidence that those with lower income would be more likely to donate for financial gain. Though it is not possible to determine through a questionnaire whether a system of financial incentives would exploit those with lower income, the results in our questionnaire did not show evidence of this.”
Continue Reading
