The state of Oregon is one of the easiest in the United States to obtain a kidney for transplant and as a result it attracts some kidney patients who live outside the state's transplant territory. The number of transplant patients who travel to Oregon for surgery is small, but experts agree that the system raises fairness questions. Who gets organs? Should residents of one state benefit from the decisions and demographics of a neighboring one? "We recognize the problem and we're trying to figure out how to address it," says Peter Stock, who chairs the United Network for Organ Sharing's Kidney Transplantation Committee. "The whole issue of organ allocation comes down to a balance of justice, utility and efficiency," he says, adding that his committee is working on a new system that deals with those concerns. "They are real and we're starting to try and fix them," says Stock, a kidney-transplant surgeon at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. "But there is no easy answer." The counterargument is that where you live shouldn't make any difference in how long you wait for a transplant. "It's true that if you need a kidney, it's advantageous to live here," William Bennett, the medical director of transplant services at Portland's Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital and Medical Center says. "But it begs the question: Are kidneys a national resource or are they a local resource?"

Gabrielle Glaser, The Oregonian
Do you feel that states should be able to allocate organs for transplant to their citizens first despite the needs of individuals in other states whose wait for the organs may be much longer?