Liver transplants can cost $700K to $1M+. In the US, insurance (or Medicare) typically engages in a special negotiated contract with the hospital. This amount is too expensive for a hospital, or even many affluent individuals, to pay without insurance. (I'm sure there are exceptions for the exceedingly rich.)
For me, a magical additional insurance policy appeared in my hospital account to which all transplant-related expenses were charged.
In addition, to get an organ in the US you must pass a series of exams regarding your physical and mental health, diet, your ability to get post-transplant support, and your willingness and ability to take care of your new organ. Alcohol and drug tests as appropriate. And for these evaluations, money can only indirectly help you.
I would also guess that there is a correlation between those people who have insurance and those that can pass the transplant evaluation, though that's a hidden variable that the powers that be probably want to stay hidden.
Organs are just too scarce to waste on a person who will squander one. It's a life and death competition between patients. It's horrible to see the people who get left behind, who wait too long, get sidetracked by some "miracle" cure, or even happen to live in the wrong region of the country where organs are scarce.
But the true miracle of a successful transplant is almost unfathomable (and that's said by a rationalist). From death's bed to walking a couple kilometers in a month and a half.
>Do you have a source that goes into the reasoning behind this?
A simple "no" would have sufficed.
That 1M "cost" you mentioned isn't actually the cost is it? It's the amount the hospital wants to recover from an insurer. The true dollar cost is much lower.
I'm not saying it's easy to get an organ transplant without insurance, but to say it's impossible without anything but speculation isn't very useful.
I was evaluated by two US transplant centers that function under a government-regulated evaluation regimen, and spent more than a year researching the process.
Neither would proceed with any paperwork or testing without proof of insurance coverage specifically for transplant.
Honestly, I'm not especially concerned with edge cases like "is it possible to get a transplant without insurance if I offer to pay cash?" or questions about what a transplant really costs.
Those are irrelevant academic questions for the vast majority of transplant patients.
Yeah, some places are better than others. When I was waiting for a transplant, I lived in the western United States. I shared an organ distribution region with California. My docs told me: "That sucking sound you hear is all the needed organs going to California." Ha! I waited 2.5 years for a transplant.
Varies by state because of details of organ donation laws, religious makeup, quality of healthcare. Blue states tend to have fewer donors (seat belt laws, gun laws, more social safety net). High concentration of hospitals is generally bad (car accident victim on the Mass Turnpike gets rushed to one of a number of world class hospitals, lives, not a donor). So Boston bad. New York worst state in US: need an organ in NYC? Relocate while you can.
Midwest and southern generosity typically drives higher donation rates. Neighboring states may draw organs from your state.
Transplant hospitals that do many cases get really good at it, and have enough experience that they will use organs other centers will reject. My liver was rejected by at least one other transplant center before it arrived in Indianapolis. (They let me see it before surgery. How cool is that?) So think twice before ruling out an organ just because someone else said no.
Blood type, physical size, and exact timing of things can cause lucky breaks.
A combination of lots of people killing themselves(usually in auto accidents) plus many people who need a liver being ineligible to get one due to alcoholism/drug addiction/other health problems.
For me, a magical additional insurance policy appeared in my hospital account to which all transplant-related expenses were charged.
In addition, to get an organ in the US you must pass a series of exams regarding your physical and mental health, diet, your ability to get post-transplant support, and your willingness and ability to take care of your new organ. Alcohol and drug tests as appropriate. And for these evaluations, money can only indirectly help you.
I would also guess that there is a correlation between those people who have insurance and those that can pass the transplant evaluation, though that's a hidden variable that the powers that be probably want to stay hidden.
Organs are just too scarce to waste on a person who will squander one. It's a life and death competition between patients. It's horrible to see the people who get left behind, who wait too long, get sidetracked by some "miracle" cure, or even happen to live in the wrong region of the country where organs are scarce.
But the true miracle of a successful transplant is almost unfathomable (and that's said by a rationalist). From death's bed to walking a couple kilometers in a month and a half.