Self-Driving Cars Could Cause a Massive Organ Shortage

[ghost2509]

popularmechanics.com
By Jay Bennett
Dec 30, 2016



Fewer vehicle-related fatalities means fewer organs to harvest for hospitals.

One of the most highly-lauded advantages of self-driving cars is that a world filled with interconnected autonomous vehicles will significantly reduce the number of traffic accidents and resulting deaths. But this comes with an unintentional consequence: fewer organs will be available to hospitals for patients who need transplants.

As a new report from Slate points out, hospitals around the country already struggle with organ supply shortages. About 6,500 Americans die every year waiting for a transplant, and the waiting list for organs has nearly doubled in the past 18 years, from about 65,000 to more than 123,000.

We don't have enough donated organs to take care of the patients who need transplants as it is, and one in five organs used in transplants come from vehicular accidents. When the number of automotive-related deaths plummets from self-driving cars, one of the most reliable sources of healthy human organs and tissues will plummet as well. Most analyses suggest that autonomous vehicles will eventually prevent over half of the 35,000 deaths that occur on American roads each year, and some reports are much more optimistic.

Obviously preventing automotive deaths is a good thing, but legislatures need to start thinking about ways to increase the nation's supply of organs. As Slate suggests, lawmakers could re-legalize organ sales, which were banned in 1984. A legal donation-for-compensation system could be setup for organs such as livers and kidneys, the most commonly needed organs by hospitals, similar to the payments that people receive for donating blood plasma, bone marrow, sperm, or eggs.

The Department of Transportation might also consider automatically enrolling drivers as organ donors, requiring people to opt out by checking a box at the DMV rather than opting in. Israel has had success increasing their organ supply by allowing people to move up on waiting lists if a family member donates an organ, not necessarily for that procedure.

It's morbid, but it's a reality of life—dead but otherwise healthy people are perfect organ donors. As the number of people seeking a transplant rises, self-driving cars are going to save the patients' otherwise-donors from an accident.

[Grumble]

This is like complaining that the high taxes that are added to cigarettes to supposedly urge people to stop are leading to a reduction in revenue.

As the article says, there is already a shortage of organs for transplant and already requires a solution. Yeah, less auto deaths would mean less available and more people waiting for transplants could die but its still the same problem. What do they suggest? Let more people die in auto accidents? Promote motorcycle driving.

As in many cases the solution will be found in technological advancement but to be honest it will be while before self driving cars are adopted en masse and we see such an impact. This will hopefully allow for developments in 3D printing of organs and other technologies.

However, I would be interested in seeing how the epidemic of diabetes, fatty liver disease and metobolic syndrome are also going to affect the number of suitable organs for transplants. It won't matter if the people in those car crashes are too unhealthy in the first place to donate their organs.

[FrostyQN]

Exactly.

All this really does is swap auto accident victims for people dying for lack of transplants.

Though, even if self driving cars do end up being a reality, you'll still have plenty of people wanting to drive their own vehicles.
The whole self driving thing is kind of creepy and I'd rather drive my own car and to tell the truth, most everyone else would probably want to drive their own too.

[Karmafan]

You know what emergency room nurses call Motorcycle drivers?

contains hidden content

You will have to click 'thank you' to see hidden content

[Grumble]

Originally Posted by Karmafan

You know what emergency room nurses call Motorcycle drivers?

Yup. That quote was in my mind when I mentioned it in my last post. I've been the passenger in over a several car accidents that if I had been on a bike I would have been dead or disabled.

The roads in Northern B.C. were a lot like those "Crazy Russian" vids with less traffic density and more pickup trucks. To give some context the guys that did this are from where I grew up:

You Tube

You Tube

[alexora]

I hope that current research in stem cell culture will lead to new organs being created, using the patient's own cells so there would be no need for anti-rejection drugs.

[Wallingford]

So, they're going to build cars that drive themselves out of organs? OH NO. There's going to be a MUSIC shortage!

[FrostyQN]

Originally Posted by Wallingford

So, they're going to build cars that drive themselves out of organs? OH NO. There's going to be a MUSIC shortage!

No, you completely misread that. People are dying in cars because they won't stop playing with their organs. Pay attention!!