Organ transplantation, like many areas of medicine, provides a poor basis fora political thesis that single-payer health care offers a more equitable allocation of scarce resources.

Contrary to John Edwards's populist rhetoric, the United States performs more organ transplants per capita than countries with single-payer health care systems, with better outcomes.

Roughly 10% of all organ transplants in the world are obtained on the black market. A new investigation by puts a brutal face on that underground world.

China is proposing forward-thinking transplant policies that offer to pay organ donors. These proposals challenge the status quo, however if China is serious about creating an incentive program, transparency and accountability will be vital to its integrity and safety.

Meaningful rewards for living donations could provide the answer to the kidney shortage.

In October of 2009, Kumud Majumder, the father of an 11-year-old son with advanced leukemia, joined a lawsuit challenging the federal ban on compensating bone-marrow donors. He wanted to save his son's life. Last week Mr. Majumder and his co-plaintiffs enjoyed a victory. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the majority of bone-marrow donors may lawfully be compensated.

When Altruism Isn't Enough explores the key ethical, theoretical, and practical concerns of a government-regulated donor compensation program.