This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Monday, March 31st, 2014.

I'm Keila Brown.

Iran doesn't have much over the United States in terms of freedom except perhaps for one thing.

Iranians may be compensated for donating kidneys,

and in allowing it Iran has dramatically reduced the shortage of those organs nationwide.

Cigarette Fry Revere is author of The Kidney Sellers, A Journey of Discovery in Iran.

We spoke following a book event last week.

If you're someone with chronic kidney disease in Iran, you can with the help of government purchase a

kidney and save your life while in this country that's against the law.

How does it function?

They have an NGO, so a non-governmental organization

where they have volunteers who are either

former kidney donors or former kidney recipients who set up a program where

they match kidney donors and recipients.

Once they have a medical match, people go through psychological testing and they see a social worker.

And then they actually match people also based on need and ability to pay.

So let's say the donor has $10,000 in debt.

They will either find a recipient who can pay the $10,000

or they will supplement with charity and government funding to meet the donors

needs. How serious is the organ shortage in the United States and how much of

that is just kidneys.

In the United States there are about 120,000 people waiting for organs right now and 100,000 of those are people who need kidneys.

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