The Nation - News from Nov. 4, 1985

Kidneys for transplants are in such great demand that some have been sold for more than $13,000, or more than seven times their weight in gold, the Pittsburgh Press reported. Last year, while almost 10,000 Americans underwent regular dialysis while waiting for transplants, at least 300 kidneys gathered in the United States were sent abroad, the newspaper said. The U.S. Health Care Financing Administration, which oversees the kidney-sale system, could not explain why the organs were sent abroad while Americans wait for transplants, the report said.