The Thinking Man's Fridge

"The greatest wealth is health" (Virgil)

There’s been a lot of talk around Australia in the last few weeks with respect to changing the current opt-in system for organ donation to an opt-out one. I am frustrated that once again the Government is playing around with an idea that has been implemented elsewhere and shown to have negligible impact on the rates of organ donors. If a person has a genuine personal, physical or religious basis for their reluctance to become an organ donor, surely they are just as likely to opt out, as the system would permit.

The bottom line is, the solution to this problem has to be better than the Government hoping that they’ll reap a windfall of organ donors because people are just too darn lazy to strike their name off the organ donor list (obviously assuming that the only reason they’re not currently organ donors is because they’re just too darn lazy to put their name on the organ donor list in the first place).

I think, as with everything in life, that people respond to financial incentives. It’s sad, but it’s just a part of the human condition.

I’m not suggesting that people are able to sell their organs. That’s a little creepy. But what if people who donate organs on their passing were to have their funeral paid for by the Government, up to, say, $10,000. How would that compare with the costs of the health system supporting someone in need of an organ until one finally becomes available? Probably great for families left behind to give their loved one a fitting send off, too...

It's just an idea, though. It's not rocket science. Rocket science is all about space-age plastics and rockets and stuff.