Can Commoditization and Altruism of Organ Transplantation Coexist?

Dr. Benjamin Hippen speaks about the Iranian system that allows an individual's kidney to be sold by the donor, whom we can also think of as the vendor. Examination has shown that the recipients are on a level playing field and there is no tourism or fraud. The responsibility for recruiting potential vendors becomes separated from the responsibility for approving the vendor's medical and surgical candidacy. But moral concerns in the US may have to be resolved in the future by a hybrid system that combines features of both systems.