Paying people for their organs, Independence Dragon Boat Regatta

Would you give your kidney to a stranger? What if you could get a $50,000 tax credit for it? That's just one proposal for upping organ donation in the US.

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Would you give your kidney to a stranger? What if you could get a $50,000 tax credit for it? That's just one proposal for upping organ donation in the US - where hundreds of people die every month while waiting on an ever-growing transplant list.

Would you give your kidney to a stranger? What if you could get a $50,000 tax credit for it? That's just one proposal for upping organ donation in the US - where hundreds of people die every month while waiting on an ever-growing transplant list.

This weekend, the Schuylkill will be lined with long wooden boats that fit 20 paddlers at once as teams compete in the Independence Dragon Boat Regatta. Ahead of the race, Tommy Leonardi, president of the Philadelphia Dragon Boat Association, joins us to talk about the traditional Chinese sport that has exploded in popularity in our region.


Would you give your kidney to a stranger? What if you could get a $50,000 tax credit for it? That’s just one proposal for upping organ donation in the US – where hundreds of people die every month while waiting on an ever-growing transplant list. The debate over paying organ donors – and the ethical questions that could arise. We discuss the issue with Arthur L. Caplan, professor of medical ethics at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, Dr. Gregory Hess, physician and kidney transplant recipient, and Lauren Sheppard who donated her kidney to a stranger a decade ago.

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