Ninth Circuit Approves Bone Marrow Payment

The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that the federal ban on selling organs does not apply to bone-marrow donors who use modern marrow-donation technology. The once-painful procedure has now been replaced by a procedure resembling blood donation. Instead of removing actual marrow from the donor's bone, physicians now remove marrow precursor cells from the donor's blood--and the National Organ Transplant Act does not restrict payments for blood donation. The holding permits MoreMarrowDonors, a California nonprofit, to move forward with a program to offer $3000 scholarships, housing allowances or charitable donations as inducements to bone marrow donors.