Centers mark up price of organs for transplant - Brief Article

Jet, August 30, 1993

There are often wide differences in the charges by transplant centers for body organs and the prices are often marked up drastically by the time patients get the bill, a Mayo Clinic study reports.

The data, published in a noted medical jornal, found between 1983 and 1988 transplant fees, which include special transportation of the organ, removal surgery, organ preservation and public education campaigns, rose dramatically. During that time period, the fees for kidney acquisition rose 13 percent; heart charges increased 64 percent while liver charges jumped 62 percent.

The report by the Rochester, Minn.-based clinic stated some centers "routinely mark up by as much as 200 percent the charges they are billed by OPOs (organ procurement organizations). The final bills for a kidney transplant during that time period went from $682 to $87,629, $390 to $60.000 for a heart transplant and $4,775 to $65,652 for livers.