For reasons having largely to do with the press of other business, I haven't posted anything for almost three months. But having been inspired by a talk yesterday by my friend and colleague Larry Ribstein on "The Law and Economics of Blogging," I'm taking to the keyboard anew. I'll post Larry's paper early next week after he revises it. It's well worth reading.
Let me begin by noting that today's Wall Street Journal (page D11) had a story from the Associated Press about organ transplants. AP reported that there were 27,000 human organs transplanted in 2004, "a record driven by a big jump in donated organs from the dead." Donations from the deceased in 2004 increased 11 percent over their number in 2003. There were slightly over 7,000 deceased donors last year, and on average each decedent donated three organs.
In contrast to the dead, the number of donated organs from the living (mostly kidneys) increased only slightly in 2004, up to almost 7,000. While most living donors give kidneys, an increasing number are giving portions of their livers or lungs, both of which organs then regenerate to full size in the donor.
Prior to last year, when deceased donors slightly outnumbered living donors, living donors have outnumbered deceased donors for the previous three years.
The Department of Health and Human Services reports that approximately 50 percent of all potential deceased donors donate at least one organ. HHS is engaged in a campaign to increase that rate to 75 percent.
TSU
