| 1. There is no competition to receive medical care. If you read Watsi's FAQ, all patients on the site are guaranteed funding before their profiles are posted. Thus, doctors are the only ones that decide who gets care and who doesn't, not donors. Also relevant: http://www.quora.com/Watsi/How-does-Watsi-grapple-with-the-e... 2. If non-transparent giving is what you like, then that's great, there are thousands of charities to give to and I'd be happy to recommend some top ones. But there are a lot of people (myself included) that like to know who their donations are helping and how. Establishing meaningful connections between people is as much a part of Watsi's mission as simply funding medical care. 3. I don't think that establishing a connection between someone that needs medical care and someone that can contribute is gross. I think it is one of the most meaningful connections possible, and we establish these connections in the United States every day via TV, school fundraisers, churches, etc. (eg "XYZ's cancer fund"). Over $20MM has been raised on giveforward.com for medical expenses by people paying a fee to use the service. Watsi is a 100% opt-in program. Why should poor people be denied the same fundraising tools rich people have access to? Why should they be denied the opportunity to share their stories with the world? I've personally explained Watsi to patients in the developing world, and it's funny how the only people who ever seem put off by the model are "wealthy Westerners" who for some reason feel so guilty about their status in the world that they fail to see Watsi patients as other human beings and only as a "menu of suffering third-worlders" who should be hidden out of sight. I understand where you're coming from, I just happen to disagree. I'm very happy Karmabox donated their time to try and make the world a better place, and I respect them tremendously. Even if you don't like the execution, I think they at least deserve a dignified debate and not a rude and dismissive critique of their work. Would you write a comment like that under your real name? If you have any other feedback on Watsi, you can reach me at chase at watsi.org and I'd be happy to listen and/or answer any questions you have. |