Not a fair point. I can’t sell my kidney and buy mosquito nets with the proceeds, thus saving more lives than if I donate the kidney. It’s illegal, I’m likely to get conned, and there are knock-on effects that end up costing more lives overall. Donating a kidney isn’t displacing any charitable donation (except for pay cuts while I’m in the hospital, maybe?).
Except that people think about doing their good deed for the day. I bet if you asked someone who’d just undergone major surgery to save someone’s life if they now wanted to donate money as well, they’d say, “Look, I’ve sacrificed enough.”
This is part of why I try to make my help as hassle-free for myself as possible (writing a check). I probably end up helping more in the long run the easier it is for me. Surgery does not sound easy.
Not a fair point. I can’t sell my kidney and buy mosquito nets with the proceeds, thus saving more lives than if I donate the kidney. It’s illegal, I’m likely to get conned, and there are knock-on effects that end up costing more lives overall. Donating a kidney isn’t displacing any charitable donation (except for pay cuts while I’m in the hospital, maybe?).
Except that people think about doing their good deed for the day. I bet if you asked someone who’d just undergone major surgery to save someone’s life if they now wanted to donate money as well, they’d say, “Look, I’ve sacrificed enough.”
This is part of why I try to make my help as hassle-free for myself as possible (writing a check). I probably end up helping more in the long run the easier it is for me. Surgery does not sound easy.
I tried to respond to this issue above: http://lesswrong.com/lw/d4v/altruistic_kidney_donation/6w9j