It's time to discuss whether organ donors should be paid

It's time to discuss whether organ donors should be paid
EDITOR:
I read the Dec. 6 letter from Gordan R. Bowen, executive director of LifeBanc, describing the "crucial shortage" of organs available for transplant. He goes on to describe how many lives one person's donation can save, and how many people die while on waiting lists for organs. I thought this would be a good opportunity to get people talking about something that nobody seems to want to talk about - paying donors for their organs.
Not only do I think that this will shorten or eliminate many of the waiting lists, there may even be a surplus of certain organs such as kidneys.
Here is the reasoning. Everybody involved with a transplant gets paid for their part. The doctors that take and transplant the organ. The anesthesiologists, the nurses, the hospitals, the technicians, the transport services etc. Everybody. I'll bet even Gordan R. Bowen as well as everybody that works at LifeBanc get their paychecks on time. Everybody, that is, except the organ donor or their family, without whom none of the above mentioned people would be getting paid at all.
And in the case of a live donor, the person doing the donating is taking all the risk. Think about it. An otherwise healthy person is subjecting themselves to the risks of major surgery, and general anesthesia. A live kidney donor is also taking the risk that the one remaining kidney may develop problems sometime in the future.
Now, if you wanted to donate your organs for free you can certainly do that. Look at the blood services. I can go downtown and sell a pint of blood and nobody has a problem with that. Or, I can donate a pint to the Red Cross ( which by the way charges hospitals for blood). Further, a person awaiting an organ transplant is usually on some type of life support such as dialysis, or requires frequent hospitalizations, or both. Paying a donor a reasonable amount of money for an organ will most likely eliminate the life support and may actually save the system money.
I do think a system of payment would take some work and a lot of issues would have to be discussed. However I do think that a system that involves payment to the donor or their family would greatly increase the number of donors, and, accordingly, reduce the number of people waiting for organs.
This letter is not intended to imply that LifeBanc or The Red Cross are not worthy of your support or your donations. I have had the opportunity to work with LifeBanc personnel on a first hand basis. They are all highly qualified professionals, and the organization is first class. Many people who would have died otherwise are living quality lives due to their services. This letter is intended to get people thinking and talking about a new solution to an old problem.
GENE DeCHRISTOFARO
Girard
Protecting Ohio's turnpike
EDITOR:
Why is there a move in Columbus to merge the Ohio Turnpike with ODOT? The turnpike is well operated and well maintained. It is not supported by tax money, but by tolls paid by users. As long as the turnpike is governed by a commission, it is safe from leasing to a foreign entity. Once the turnpike is merged with ODOT, leasing could be more e easily accomplished.
It is very sneaky on the part of those that want an easy way to leasing to push this at the end of the legislative session, when people might not notice.
Leasing the turnpike is not the answer to pay for road projects. Leasing to a foreign entity is not in the best interest of national security.
GEZA J. VAMOS
Cleveland