government
Bone marrow donor ruling should be thrown out, Justice Dept. says
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Feb. 6, 2012
The U.S. Justice Dept. wants the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a court panel's decision allowing bone marrow donors to be compensated.
A panel of the appeals court in December 2011 ruled it legal to provide financial incentives to encourage people to donate bone marrow cells using a method similar to regular blood donation. The 1984 National Organ Transplant Act forbids payment or any other compensation for organs such as kidneys, lungs or eyes.
But the panel said paying people for bone marrow using the nonsurgical collection method is not covered under the act. The plaintiffs in the case, MoreMarrowDonors.org, are a group that wanted to encourage more people to donate bone marrow by offering up to $3,000 in scholarships or other payments.
The Justice Dept. and the National Marrow Donor Program in January asked the full court to rehear the case. The panel's ruling could have disastrous consequences for patients in need of a transplant, the agencies said. At this article's deadline, the court had not said whether it would rehear the case.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/02/06/gvbf0206.htm.
