Organs and Inducements at Duke

I was talked into going to what turned out to be a wonderful conference.  The modal participant was a law professor, but here's a photo of economists and a surgeon:

Judd Kessler, Jay Lavee, Al Roth, Avi Stoler

Kim Krawiec posts about the conference at the Faculty Lounge: I reproduce her post below...

"Organs & Inducements

I, of course, meant to post this in advance of the symposium, but underestimated the amount of time and attention last minute details would consume (what’s that phrase about older but not wiser?).  So I’m just getting to it now. 

Anyway, I think that the event was a big success and I will have more to say about it in the coming days.  For now, I’ll just post the symposium abstract, along with a thanks to all the many wonderful participants who made this event a success. 

More to follow . . .

Symposium Abstract:

The need for human organs for transplantation far outstrips supply. As a result, a large literature has developed debating possible means to address the gap. Suggestions range from procurement system improvements and changes in the consent regime, in the case of cadaveric organ donation, to inventive exchange systems (such as swaps and NEAD chains) and financial incentives of various sorts, in the case of live organ donation.

In Organs and Inducements, contributors build on existing debates on mechanisms designed to bridge the gap between organ demand and supply, to address deeper questions regarding inducements to donate.   Among the varied possible mechanisms of persuasion and incentives at society’s disposal, what are the relative advantages and disadvantages of each?  What are the larger ethical, economic, sociological, and psychological issues raised by these different types of inducements, including non-financial inducements?  Why are some accepted by the law and society at large, while others are not?  Do the lines we’ve drawn among permissible and impermissible inducements make sense, given the concerns those rules are meant to address?"

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Update: here's a further post today by Kim K., on the origins of the conference (and why they chose the word "inducements" rather than "incentives": More Organs & Inducements