Premium
SUBSIDIZING ALTRUISM IN LIVING ORGAN DONATION
Author(s) -
Schnier Kurt E.,
Merion Robert M.,
Turgeon Nicole,
Howard David
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
economic inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1465-7295
pISSN - 0095-2583
DOI - 10.1111/ecin.12488
Subject(s) - altruism (biology) , donation , subsidy , waiting list , organ donation , kidney transplantation , transplantation , demographic economics , business , economics , public economics , medicine , economic growth , psychology , social psychology , market economy
The current supply of deceased donor organs is insufficient to meet the growing demand for transplantable organs. Consequently, candidates for kidney transplantation are encouraged to find a living donor. In 2008, the Department of Health and Human Services began to reimburse donors' travel‐related expenses via the National Living Donor Assistance Center (NLDAC). Using variation in transplant centers' applications for donor assistance, we use a difference‐in‐difference model to estimate the relationship between the NLDAC and living donor kidney transplants. We find that among participating transplant centers, the program increased the number of living donor kidney transplants by approximately 14%. ( JEL I12, I18, D64)