In the United States, there are more than one hundred thousand people on the waiting list to receive a life-saving organ donation, but only one in four will receive one day this precious gift (Statistics and Facts, nd). Demand for organ donations has consistently exceeded supply, and the gap between the number of recipients on the waiting list and the number of donors has increased by 110% over the past ten years (O'Reilly, 2009). As a result, some are proposing radical new ideas to meet these demands, including the sale of human organs. Financial compensation for organs, which is illegal in the United States, is considered repugnant by many. The solution to this ethical dilemma is not found in a wallet; There are other morally and ethically acceptable alternatives to increase the number of organ donations. Iran, which has the world's only regulated system for compensating a kidney donor, has virtually eliminated the wait for a kidney donation. Although Iran's numbers look promising compared to the U.S. waiting list, they remain questionable. First, Iran has an authoritarian government, which arouses great distrust in the global community; therefore, many do not trust the accuracy of the numbers they report. Additionally, Iran has not produced any long-term tracking information on donors and recipients. Despite the $3,500 to $5,700 reported by living donors, seventy-nine percent of donors could not afford follow-up care. Additionally, Dr. J. Richard Thistlethwaite, a transplant surgeon at the University of Chicago, states that "the stigma associated with selling your organs was so strong that 98 percent did not want to be identified as an organ donor" (Stevens ... ... middle of article ......ations, other answers: Looking for a solution to the organ shortage Retrieved April 26, 2011 from American Medical News: http:// www.ama-assn.org/. amednews/2008/10/13/prsa1013.htmStatistics & Facts (nd). aboutStatsFacts.aspStevens, S. (2007, July 30). Doctors and patients debate ways to increase organ donation. Retrieved April 24, 2011 from the Daily Herald: http://www.donatelifeillinois.org/donatelife. /news/DailyHerald07-30-07.pdfThe State of the International Trade (2007, December). volumes/8512/06-039370/en/#R43Timeline of Historical Events (nd). . Retrieved April 26, 2011 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: http://organdonor.gov/legislationTimeline.asp