Here is an opinion piece I wrote for the Washington Post from a series entitled, “Compensation for organ donors,” edited by Robert Gebelhoff. From the introduction:
“Last month, a group of researchers published in the American Journal of Transplantation a cost-benefit analysis for a government-funded program that would offer $45,000 to living kidney donors. They calculated that such an approach would not only fulfill the entire waiting list, but save a whopping $46 billion a year — an amount that has attracted the attention of a handful of economists.”
I provide a perspective on the prospects that we can grow patient-specific kidneys in a dish from induced pluripotent cells. The short answer? We are alot closer now than we were a few years ago, and it is reasonable to think that this is an achievable goal with time.
From ‘In Theory: Debating the Next Big Idea’