Bioethicist Sigrid Fry-Revere on Elective Kidney Sales

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There's a chronic organ shortage in the United States, with demand wildly outstripping supply despite every attempt to increase the number of donors. The disturbing result, says bioethicist Sigrid Fry-Revere in this interview, is that "20 to 30 people die every day" while waiting for a new kidney. The Kidney Sellers: A Journey of Discovery in Iran is Fry-Revere's riveting account of a market for organs that she says works far better than what exists in the United States. After the Islamic revolution of 1979, Iran was cut off from Western organ-transplant networks and out of necessity began allowing donors to receive compensation. Now, despite political repression and economic malaise, Iran is essentially the only country in the world where there is a waiting list to give kidneys-and no waiting list to receive one. Although the donors receive payment, they also see themselves as acting charitably.