Doctor proposes $47,000 price for kidney donation

An Australian kidney specialist sparked national debate yesterday by suggesting the government should pay up to 50,000 Australian dollars ($47,000) for kidney donations to overcome a chronic shortage.

Gavin Carney said eliminating a law that prohibits the selling of organs would save thousands of lives and billions of dollars (euros) in care for patients on organ waiting lists. He also said it would stop people from going to Third World countries and paying for black-market organs and risky, unregulated surgeries.

Australia has one of the lowest rates of organ donation in the developed world, about 10 donors per 1 million people, according to a federal health task force.