You get up to five years in prison for compensating a bone marrow donor. In the IJ’s argument in the videos below, they make a point to distinguish bone marrow donors from kidney donors. They are working toward a limited goal, and have a reason for setting a limited goal. Philosophically (and constitutionally) there is no reason for the government to make compensation illegal for ANY organ or tissue donation.

Every year, 80,000 people in the U.S. need a kidney donation. 20,000 are available. Why not legalize compensation?

Every year, 1,000 Americans die because they cannot find a matching bone marrow donor. Minorities are hit especially hard. Common sense suggests that offering modest incentives to attract more bone marrow donors would be worth pursuing, but federal law makes that a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

That is why on October 28, 2009, adults with deadly blood diseases, the parents of sick children, a California nonprofit and a world-renowned medical doctor who specializes in bone marrow research joined with the Institute for Justice to launch a legal fight against the U.S. Attorney General to put an end to a ban on offering compensation for bone marrow donors.

click here for more on the case
click here to read more about the superheroes at the Institute for Justice

Press conference:

Q&A:

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 4:56 am and is filed under Constitution, Healthcare, War on Commerce.