Donorcycles: Motorcycle Helmet Laws and the Supply of Organ Donors

[Clark]

http://econpapers.repec.org/article/ucpjlawec/doi_3a10.1086_2f661256.htm

Donorcycles: Motorcycle Helmet Laws and the Supply of Organ Donors
Stacy Dickert-Conlin, Todd Elder (telder@msu.edu) and Brian Moore
Journal of Law and Economics, 2011, vol. 54, issue 4, pages 907 - 935

Abstract: Traffic safety mandates are typically designed to reduce the harmful externalities of risky behaviors. We consider whether motorcycle helmet laws also reduce a beneficial externality by decreasing the supply of viable organ donors. Our central estimates show that organ donations resulting from fatal motor vehicle accidents increase by 10 percent when states repeal helmet laws. Two features of this association suggest that it is causal: first, nearly all of it is concentrated among men, who account for over 90 percent of all motorcyclist deaths, and second, helmet laws are unrelated to the supply of donors who die in circumstances other than motor vehicle accidents. The estimates imply that every death of a helmetless motorcyclist prevents or delays as many as .33 death among individuals on organ transplant waiting lists.

[Clark]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/06/23/4999469/economist-studies-link-between.html#.U6kl0vldUk1

Economist studies link between helmet-free bikers, organ donors
By Bruce Siceloff

Maybe you know some of the bad things that happen when states roll back their laws mandating safety helmets for all motorcycle riders:

Fewer riders wear helmets.

More riders suffer serious brain injuries in crashes, running up six- and seven-figure medical bills for families and taxpayers.

More riders die.

There's a good thing that happens, too: With fewer lifesaving, brain-protecting helmets, we get more organ donors.
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