The chronic organ shortage in this country is a well-known scourge, so any good idea for recruiting more organ donors is always welcome. Bravo, then, to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and its voucher plan for kidney donors. It basically lets an individual donate a kidney to a stranger now and get a certificate for a future kidney transplant for a loved one.
This idea was the brainchild of retired judge Howard Broadman, who feared he would be too old to donate a kidney when his grandson, Quinn, needed one in a few years. The concept has since been adopted at other medical centers and has been formalized under the umbrella of the private National Kidney Registry's advanced donation program.
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