Give That Little Girl a Lung - NOW!!!

myp · Jun 17, 2013

misterveritis said:
Are you now arguing that the head of HHS has always held the power of life and death over the rest of us?

If the government got out of the way of people making a profit from selling their organs there would be plenty.

I am actually a proponent of a regulated organ market system for some organs- would still need a priority list for some rarer organs though. You know you can't donate your lungs and live, right? So you probably would have a shortage anyway. Better solution is to make the default option when you get your driver's license to be yes for organ donor (so they would ask you "would you like to opt out of being a donor" as opposed to "would you like to be a organ donor"). Still might not have enough lungs though- it's a tough one...

Edit: Best option is to put more money into research (or policy to encourage research vs. other things) so we don't even have to have this issue in the future, but alas too many politicians are only in it for the next election or the lobbyist paycheck down the road, and too many ideologues reject science in favor of dogmatism.

xrayeyes · Jun 18, 2013

The government hasn't always been involved in health care, but the insurance companies certainly have (for the most part). Get ready for that to change. Get ready for a lot to change. There funds will no longer be anywhere near what little there is now for transplants. You will see people traveling overseas for organs procured on the black market.

You will see cash only clinics the norm rather than the exception (until the government finds a way to regulate and tax them to death). It has already begun.

Glad she got the lungs as was doing well last report. But, the rules have to be made and have a limit. Health care is not a "right" as many people believe. It is a privilege.

myp · Jun 18, 2013

xrayeyes said:
The government hasn't always been involved in health care, but the insurance companies certainly have (for the most part). Get ready for that to change. Get ready for a lot to change. There funds will no longer be anywhere near what little there is now for transplants. You will see people traveling overseas for organs procured on the black market.

You will see cash only clinics the norm rather than the exception (until the government finds a way to regulate and tax them to death). It has already begun.

Glad she got the lungs as was doing well last report. But, the rules have to be made and have a limit. Health care is not a "right" as many people believe. It is a privilege.

What does most of this have to do with organ transplantation? Many organs are already in short supply (like I said above they pretty much always has been in short supply). Not sure what the rest of this has to do with the topic at hand... If you want to discuss the healthcare system or reform in general, feel free to respond to one of the other threads or start your own.

xrayeyes · Jun 18, 2013

myp said:
Edit: Best option is to put more money into research (or policy to encourage research vs. other things) so we don't even have to have this issue in the future, but alas too many politicians are only in it for the next election or the lobbyist paycheck down the road, and too many ideologues reject science in favor of dogmatism.

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you were the only one that was allowed to make secondary commentary on the content of a thread. I'll just move along.

myp · Jun 18, 2013

xrayeyes said:
I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you were the only one that was allowed to make secondary commentary on the content of a thread. I'll just move along.

More money for synthetic organ development is off-topic?

I am just saying that whether or not healthcare is a right and speculation on the emergence of more cash-only clinics doesn't really have anything to do with the topic at hand. Just trying to reduce the noise.

misterveritis · Jun 18, 2013

myp said:
I am actually a proponent of a regulated organ market system for some organs- would still need a priority list for some rarer organs though. You know you can't donate your lungs and live, right? So you probably would have a shortage anyway. Better solution is to make the default option when you get your driver's license to be yes for organ donor (so they would ask you "would you like to opt out of being a donor" as opposed to "would you like to be a organ donor"). Still might not have enough lungs though- it's a tough one...

Edit: Best option is to put more money into research (or policy to encourage research vs. other things) so we don't even have to have this issue in the future, but alas too many politicians are only in it for the next election or the lobbyist paycheck down the road, and too many ideologues reject science in favor of dogmatism.

Imagine the opportunity to sell my lungs upon my death. If my lungs are in excellent shape perhaps my heirs draw top dollar. If they are above average perhaps they shall recieve an above average price for my lungs.

You continue to be a statist. The state has no claim upon my body. I should have complete control and have the opportunity to sell some or all of it as I choose.

There would be plenty of just about every organ...

myp · Jun 18, 2013

misterveritis said:
You continue to be a statist. The state has no claim upon my body. I should have complete control and have the opportunity to sell some or all of it as I choose.

Already said I support a regulated market, but I am not okay with organs being sold to the highest bidder when there aren't enough to go around. That might have meant this poor girl did not get one, but the 80 year old who has smoked a pack a day for 70 years, does. If that makes me a statist to you, so be it. Also, even if a money-based market could provide enough lungs, there might be better solutions as I suggested above like changing how the organ donor question is asked when you get your license (see Dan Ariely's research for more).

Give That Little Girl a Lung - NOW!!!

myp

xrayeyes

myp

xrayeyes

myp

misterveritis

myp

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