The Iranian Kidney Machine

Market-design maven Al Roth points to a new working paper about Iran’s kidney market. Kidney donors in Iran receive regulated payments from the recipients, a gift from the government “for appreciation of her altruism,” and occasionally an additional payment from the recipient. Once administrators identify an available donor, “a meeting between the two parties is arranged (they are provided with a private area within the foundation building if they want to reach a private agreement) and they will be sent for tissue tests.” Interestingly, Iran’s total kidney donation rate (including live and deceased donors) is only 27.1 per 1 million citizens versus the U.S. rate of 54.7. [%comments]