“Imagine the federal government making it illegal to buy or sell food. Imagine the law saying you could get a meal only if somebody donated it to you. If that happened, nobody would have a financial incentive to produce or distribute food. Do you think everyone would get enough to eat? Fortunately, Congress isn’t rushing to outlaw buying and selling food. Unfortunately, they’re not rushing to reverse their 1984 ban on buying and selling human organs. With no financial incentive to increase supply, it’s no surprise there’s a huge organ shortage. More than 94,000 people are on the national transplant waiting list, and another 45,000 will join it next year. If incentives don’t change, most of them will die waiting for a transplant. While they wait for Congress to act, one potential transplant recipient dies every 90 minutes.” (12/30/06)