Broad Medical and Public Support for Regulated Living Donor Compensation in 9 Surveys

Medical experts and American voters support a tightly regulated, federally supervised pilot program to responsibly increase kidney donation and end the kidney shortage.

I. Positions and Survey Data from Transplant Professionals

American Society of Transplantation (AST) & American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS)
A joint working group concluded there is “no a priori ethical reason” not to test regulated donor compensation that is clearly distinct from illegal organ markets.

American Journal of Kidney Diseases (Global Survey of Transplant Professionals)
Approximately 60% of transplant physicians and surgeons support incentives for kidney donation. Large majorities support removing financial disincentives such as lost wages and travel costs.

II. Formal Medical Policy Position

American Medical Association (AMA) Policy H-370.958
The AMA supports evaluating regulated incentives to safely increase living kidney donation.
This is an official policy position adopted by the nation’s largest physician organization.

III. Public Opinion: Nationally Representative Surveys

National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago (January, 2026)
57% of Americans support the policy approach embodied in the End Kidney Deaths Act.
Only 12% oppose it.
Nearly a five-to-one margin in favor.

This is strong public backing for a major health care reform proposal and underscores that this is not only good policy, but also politically safe policy.

Five Additional National Surveys Over Three Decades

Each shows majority public support for regulated compensation of kidney donor:

• Johns Hopkins (2019) – Majority public support
• JAMA Surgery (2016) – Voters approve regulated donor compensation
• Reuters Poll (2012) – National majority support
• American Journal of Transplantation (2006) – Support across race, income, and ethnicity
• UNOS/NKF Ethics Committee (1993) – Early ethical endorsement of removing financial barriers

Bottom Line

✅ Medical societies support research into donor incentives
✅ National patient organizations support compensation
✅ American voters support a regulated compensation model