Give one, get one: the issue of incentivizing organ donation in India Last month my great-uncle passed away. And while one side of me mourned his passing, another part of me regretted the loss of his organs; had he been a donor, his death could have offered the promise of life to others. He had been diagnosed with a terminal illness over a year ago, and as my aunt related the detailed instructions he had given, including not wanting to be put on a ventilator and wanting to be cremated after withdrawal of life support, it struck me as such a waste that organ donation had not been on that list. Unfortunately, discussing organ donation at such a distressing time is viewed as insensitive. And discussions around the supply of organs for incentives
Their research shows that it is often easier not to make a decision rather than go to the trouble of calculating an optimal contribution. "Nudging" here refers to gently pushing people toward making a choice since often according to the authors, "…people procrastinate, especially when a decision is hard.” Thus, this may be the reason why Wen says "There is a large disparity between those who say they support donation in theory and those who actually register". Hence, a solution may lie in implementing an “opt-in” scheme for organ donation, where everyone is automatically a donor unless they consciously “opt out”. Wen's article references a recent UK study of 48 countries which found that Spain, with such a "presumed consent" system, had the highest consent rate of organ donation. She however adds a note of caution from Eamonn Ferguson, a professor of health psychology at the University of Nottingham and one of the researchers on the study, as saying that although “They (Spain) have an opt-out system, but they also have a very coordinated, hierarchical, interlinked system of well-trained organ-transplant professionals.” This is a far cry from the facilities available in India. Additionally, implementing the system in India may not be easy due to what the authors of Nudge refer to as "paternalism" and the accompanying resentment that comes with being "told" hat to do-an issue exacerbated by the mistrust many Indians have toward corrupt politicians , not to mention the bureaucratic hurdles that would have to be crossed. Moreover, an “opt-in” scheme continues to rely on appealing to the altruistic nature of humanity which so far has not led to any significant increase in organ donation despite the many awareness campaigns. Perhaps what is needed is more than a