Doctor pushes Australian organ sales

An Australian kidney specialist sparked national debate Monday by suggesting the government should pay up to 50,000 Australian dollars (US$47,000; euro30,400) for kidney donations to overcome a chronic shortage.

Gavin Carney said eliminating a law that prohibits the selling of organs would save thousands of lives and billions of dollars (euros) in care for patients on organ waiting lists. He also said it would stop people from going to Third World countries and paying for black-market organs and risky, unregulated surgeries.

Australia has one of the world's lowest rates of organ donation, about 10 donors per 1 million people, according to Transplant Australia, a national charity and organ support group.

"We've tried everything to drum up support for organ donation and the rates have not risen in 10 years," Carney was quoted as saying in Fairfax newspapers. "People just don't seem to be willing to give their organs away for free. ... Let's pay people some money for a new car or a house deposit and those waiting lists will be halved within about five years."

Carney, a professor at the Australian National University, could not immediately be reached by The Associated Press.