The first 100 cases of organ donation after euthanasia in the Netherlands

 Here's a controversial market with something for everyone to argue about: organ donation after euthanasia, including psychiatric patients, in the Netherlands.

van Dijk, N., Wijffels, S., Wind, T. et al. The first 100 cases of organ donation after euthanasia in the Netherlands: lessons from preliminary experiences. BMC Med Ethics (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-026-01590-5 

"Background
Organ donation after euthanasia (ODE) is an evolving, patient-initiated procedure in the Netherlands. While it gives meaning to donors at the end-of-life, it introduces complex ethical and practical challenges for healthcare professionals. This study aims to describe the clinical characteristics and donation outcomes of the first 100 ODE procedures in the Netherlands, while outlining the practical and ethical dilemmas encountered.

Methods
A retrospective analysis was performed on prospectively collected data from the first 100 ODE procedures conducted between September 2012 and February 2023. To gain deeper insight into practical experiences and ethical themes, these data were discussed with organ donation coordinators and intensivists involved in the procedures. The analysis focused on clinical characteristics and donation outcomes, as on ethical and practical challenges.

Results
Neurodegenerative disorders were the primary underlying cause of suffering (52%), followed by psychiatric conditions (31%). The first 100 procedures resulted in 408 transplanted organs. Most procedures were performed in intensive care units, with general practitioners performing euthanasia. Key ethical and practical challenges included the tension between clinical protocols (e.g., fasting) and patient comfort, the medicalisation of the dying process through invasive monitoring, and the logistical barriers of starting ODE from home (ODEH). Furthermore, ethical concerns persist regarding euthanasia in psychiatric and dementia cases, and the emotional burden on healthcare professionals.

Conclusions
Patient-initiated ODE is feasible and allows patients to fulfil altruistic end-of-life wishes, but introduces complex ethical and practical challenges. Balancing organ donation with a dignified, non-medicalised death requires careful planning, especially as ODE expands to psychiatric and early dementia cases. Healthcare professionals face emotional and logistical burdens, yet are motivated by the positive impact on donors and recipients. Insights from these initial cases contributed to the development of the 2024 Dutch guideline, which supports both local and centralised procedures and which removed distinctions between somatic and psychiatric suffering. Further research should explore relatives’ perspectives to understand the broader impact of ODE(H). "

Moral Economics in Portuguese

 Moral Economics has been translated into Portuguese in Brazil, as Economia moral

 

Economia moral (Portuguese Edition)
Portuguese Edition by Alvin Roth (Author), Alessandra Bonrruquer (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition

"Alvin Roth, vencedor do Prêmio Nobel de Economia de 2012, analisa o que acontece quando os mercados esbarram em questões controversas e mostra por que precisamos lidar com escolhas difíceis quando não conseguimos concordar sobre o que é certo ou errado para a coletividade.

 "Economia moral parte de algumas das perguntas mais complexas de nosso tempo: o que pode ser comprado, vendido ou trocado em uma sociedade e quais são os limites morais dos mercados? As pessoas devem ter o direito de interromper uma gravidez, de realizar tratamentos de fertilização in vitro ou de “alugar” seus úteros? A maconha deve ser comercializada em mercados legalizados? E quanto aos opioides? Devem ser vendidos irrestritamente? É aceitável remunerar alguém pela doação de sangue ou até mesmo de um rim? Essas questões geram debates intensos, uma vez que os argumentos sustentados por aqueles que consideram essas transações aceitáveis e os que as consideram repulsivas geralmente se baseiam em convicções morais ou religiosas inegociáveis.

"Em Economia moral, Alvin Roth defende que é possível buscar a resolução desses e de outros impasses da atualidade quando os examinamos sob a perspectiva dos mercados. Mediante uma análise cuidadosa dos mercados controversos e das chamadas transações repugnantes, o autor aborda temas que provocam debates éticos e sociais, como a venda de órgãos, a prostituição e a eutanásia. Sua proposta não é a liberação ou a proibição de todo tipo de transação repugnante, mas sim suscitar uma profunda reflexão acerca de um desenho de mercado eficiente e responsável que encontre o equilíbrio entre preservar a liberdade individual e proteger os grupos mais vulneráveis."

 

“O livro aborda assuntos fundamentais, mas controversos, de maneira profunda, perspicaz e envolvente. Esta é uma leitura essencial.” ― Science Magazine
 

Post-Nobel reflections by recent winners (on the eve of a new batch:).“Even my teacher has heard of that prize!”

 Next week will hatch a new batch of Nobel laureates.  From Stanford and Harvard, here are some thoughts from (among others) Paul Milgrom and Claudia Goldin.

From Stanford:

Brian Kobilka and Paul Milgrom look back on their Nobel wins
From sleeping through the call to shaking hands with the king and queen, laureates reflect on what it was like to win the Nobel Prize. This year’s winners will be announced Oct. 5-12. 

"In 2012, Stanford physiologist Brian Kobilka won the Nobel Prize in chemistry alongside Robert Lefkowitz of Duke University. And in 2020, Stanford economist Paul Milgrom won the Nobel Prize in economic sciences with Robert Wilson, the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management, Emeritus.

...

"my grandson, who was 9 years old at the time, came home from school and told me, “Even my teacher has heard of that prize!” 

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From Harvard:

You won a Nobel Prize. Now what? 

Goldin: “The really important point is that receiving the Nobel for studying women’s role in the economy and society was incredibly meaningful to me and to so many other people, men and women, young and old, in the U.S. and in the rest of the world. It gave many a sense that their lives were important. It gave others pride in their work. That is what made it truly important, joyous, and meaningful to me.” 

 

Time magazine celebrates my Stanford colleague Adrien Bilal

 Time magazine celebrates my Stanford colleague Adrien Bilal

TIME100 Next 2026: The World's Most Influential Rising Stars: Adrien Bilal  Sep 30, 2026  by Bill McKibben

"Economists failed badly in the early years of the climate fight, assuring the world that real damage wouldn’t come until late in this century. Now, amid fires, floods, and soaring insurance premiums, Stanford University’s Adrien Bilal has offered a far more coherent analysis of the economic effects, and potential costs, of climate change. He wrote, for instance, that if we increase the planet’s temperature by an additional 2°C, “we found that would reduce output and consumption by 50%. That’s a big reduction. It’s twice as big as the Great Depression but it’s going on forever.” As his award-­winning seminal study dryly notes, “these impacts suggest that unilateral decarbonization policy is cost-effective for large countries such as the United States,” which is econospeak for “what on earth are you doing propping up coal plants and shutting down wind farms?”

 

International Workshop on Bounded Rationality In honour of Professor Reinhard Selten. Poznań, 5 October 2026

 On what would have been his 96th birthday, a hybrid (in person and online) conference in honor of the late Reinhard Selten.

 Here's the announcement: 

International Workshop on Bounded Rationality In honour of Professor Reinhard Selten – the man who changed the way we think about rationality,   Poznań, 5 October 2026 

Poznań University of Economics and Business – Hybrid event (on-site and online)

Dear Researchers, Doctoral Students and Students,

It is our great pleasure to invite you to a unique International Workshop on Bounded Rationality, held in honour of Professor Reinhard Selten – Nobel Laureate in Economics, co-founder of experimental economics and game theory, and a man deeply connected with Poznań, where he lived and passed away.

The event will take place on 5 October 2026, exactly on the day Professor Selten would have celebrated his 96th birthday. This is a perfect opportunity to pay tribute to his remarkable scientific legacy and to draw inspiration from his approach to the study of human rationality.

The event is held under the honorary patronage of the Rector of Poznań University of Economics and Business.

Why should you attend?

• Outstanding speakers from around the world – including Prof. Rosemarie Nagel, Prof. Eyal Winter, Prof. Daniel Friedman, Prof. Werner Güth, Prof. Eric Guerci, Prof. Ido Erev, Prof. Vincent Crawford, Prof. Axel Ockenfels, Prof. Tibor Neugebauer and Prof. Karim Sadrieh.
• Current research directions in bounded rationality – from game theory, through experimental economics, to behavioural finance.
• A unique atmosphere – the workshop combines an on-site session in Poznań with online sessions, enabling participants from all over the world to take part.
• Honouring Professor Selten’s legacy – his work continues to inspire researchers to push the boundaries of traditional economics.

A few words about the programme

The workshop is divided into three sessions:

• Morning session– chaired by Prof. Marcin Anholcer. Speakers include Prof. Tibor Neugebauer, Prof. Rosemarie Nagel, Prof. Eyal Winter and Prof. Karim Sadrieh.
• Afternoon session– chaired by Prof. Krzysztof Malaga. Talks will be given by, among others, Prof. Daniel Friedman, Prof. Werner Güth and Prof. Eric Guerci.
• Final session– chaired by Prof. Tibor Neugebauer. Speakers include Prof. Ido Erev and Prof. Vincent Crawford.

Each scientific talk lasts 30 minutes. The full programme is presented below.

Workshop programme

All times are Central European Summer Time (CEST).

Morning session – chaired by Prof. Marcin Anholcer (Poznań University of Economics and Business)

• 9:55 – Opening words · Prof. Marcin Anholcer, Vice-Rector for Scientific Research
• 10:00 – Prof. Tibor Neugebauer (University of Luxembourg)
  Reinhard Selten’s Life and Bounded Rationality
• 10:30 – Prof. Rosemarie Nagel (Universitat Pompeu Fabra & ICREA, Barcelona)
  Understanding Human Behavior and Games through Similarity. And how Selten Led Me to 2×2 Games
• 11:00 – Prof. Eyal Winter (Hebrew University of Jerusalem & Lancaster University)
  Spillover Effects Across Interactive Environments and Social Pollution
• 11:30 – Prof. Karim Sadrieh (University of Magdeburg)
  Selten’s Impulse Balance Equilibrium: a literature survey and a numerical approach
• 12:00 – Lunch & informal discussion

Afternoon session – chaired by Prof. Krzysztof Malaga (Poznań University of Economics and Business)

• 14:15 – Prof. Daniel Friedman (University of California, Santa Cruz)
  Evolving Overconfident Managers
• 14:45 – Prof. Werner Güth (Max Planck Institute for Research on Behavioral Economics, Bonn)
  (Un)Absorbability of Behavioral Decision Theory — Ideal or Warning —
• 15:15 – Prof. Eric Guerci (Université Côte d’Azur, Nice)
  Learning to Forecast: A lab-in-the-field experiment with finance professionals
• 15:45 – Break
• 15:45 – Prof. Axel Ockenfels (University of Cologne & Max Planck Institute for Research on Behavioral Economics, Bonn)
  Personal address

Final session – chaired by Prof. Tibor Neugebauer

• 16:00 – Prof. Ido Erev (Technion — Israel Institute of Technology)
  The Coexistence of Under-Investment and Under-Diversification
• 16:30 – Prof. Vincent Crawford (University of Oxford & UC San Diego)
  Strategic Thinking

Online participation – how to join?

The workshop can be followed free of charge online via the Zoom platform. Participants from all over the world are warmly welcome!

Zoom meeting link:
https://ue-poznan-pl.zoom.us/j/92747785836?pwd=9rDmnm33aD2YJeWNGZPmIkMghNYjpQ.1

Meeting chat link:
https://ue-poznan-pl.zoom.us/launch/jc/92747785836

Meeting ID: 927 4778 5836
Access code: 115438

Start time: 5 October 2026, 8:45 AM Warsaw time

 

First Date: Singapore's government dating app

The government of Singapore is rolling out a dating site, initially as "A pilot for public officers only."  It infers preferences from questionnaire responses, and uses the deferred acceptance algorithm to produce one match per participant in each match run.

Here it is: FirstDate.
"Start something real.
An initiative to support singles aged 21-35 in their dating journey, verified using Singpass."
"Find your match.  Applications close on 05 Oct 23:59" 

"Swipe fatigue ends here. Receive one match at a time, so you can focus on building a thoughtful connection.

"Designed with your privacy in mind. Only your match sees your profile, and you decide if your contact details are shared. 

...

"What is FirstDate?
"FirstDate started with a question among a group of GovTech officers: does having more potential matches necessarily make it easier to find a suitable match?

"The team shared an interest in exploring some of the challenges people can face when meeting someone new. They wondered whether a different approach that places greater emphasis on compatibility through values and preferences, and offers fewer matches at a time, could give users more space to consider each introduction and decide whether they would like to take the next step. They explored the idea at GovTech Singapore's annual {build} hackathon, where officers develop and test new ideas.

"That idea became FirstDate, a ground-up pilot initiative currently being tested across Public Service.


"How does the matching work?
FirstDate uses your questionnaire responses, including your interests, habits, values and preferences, to understand what you're looking for in a potential partner.

"It then applies the Gale-Shapley Stable Marriage algorithm, an established mathematical approach that generates pairings based on participants' preferences to recommend matches based on compatibility."

#########

Here's some  coverage from Singapore Samizdat:

How Singapore’s government-run dating service works, and why it won’t solve the nation’s dating woes
Here are the 30+ questions in the matchmaking tool that Singapore is deploying to solve the incel problem. 

"Three years after the demise of the Social Development Network, it looks like a new government-run matchmaker is back on the cards for Singapore.

Earlier this month, a pilot progamme by GovTech called FirstDate was announced, with government workers set to be the first batch of daters. If this sounds familiar, that’s because I was the first to report on GovTech testing the waters with this idea all the way back in April for The Straits Times."

#######

Financial Times,
Singapore taps Nobel-winning formula for government dating app 
 

Bob Montgomery, transplant surgeon and transplant recipient, in the NYT

The NY Times has a story about the complicated life and busy career of NYU transplant surgeon Bob Montgomery, who is also a transplant recipient.

He Changed the World of Organ Transplants. Would He Die Waiting for His Own?
A New York transplant surgeon’s experience waiting for a heart transplant laid bare the challenges of a system he had spent decades trying to fix. By Roni Caryn Rabin