ORGAN SHARING: Sacramento Bee Weighs In On Plan
The Sacramento Bee applauds the news that a plan by the Clinton administration to overhaul the nation's organ-sharing system has been delayed by controversy. The Bee editorial states that the delay "provides time for more dialogue and a thorough assessment of the plan's impact on transplant centers, a process that hopefully will produce a more balanced set of changes." The Bee contends that one of the "ramifications" of the new system would be a minimization of the "additional years of life these precious gifts provide, since those who are the sickest have the worst chance of long-term survival." Further, the piece argues, large research hospitals in the biggest cities will receive the lion's share of organs, to the detriment of "medium-sized cities like Sacramento because many locally donated organs will be shipped elsewhere, leaving behind too few for a viable program." The piece concludes: "There may be a fairer system than the existing one. The administration's plan, however, is not that system. There is all summer to come up with a better one" (6/8).
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