A federal court ruled recently that donors of bone marrow cells through thier bloodstream can now be compensated. That's been prohibited under the National Organ Transplant Act, and the Obama administration has until June 25th to ask the Supreme Court to review the case. Supporters say the incentive could broaden the donor pool, and Save Lives.... But opponents say the change is risky and unnecessary. A family in Lewiston is central to the case...

Thirteen-year old Jordan Flynn is sitting next to the kitchen table, head-down, a dry towel draped over her shoulders. She's dying her hair pink, and a family friend is helping out.

"You're not dying your whole head pink. "
"Yeah I am."
"No!"
"Then I'll have somebody else do it."
"No you won't."
"Yeah I will."
"No you won't!"
"Yeah I will! Dude- I'm going to lose it all anyway - just let me do what I want."
"I'll put the streaks on the top - that will be plenty."

Jordan's dyed pink hair is likely to fall out because of a bone marrow transplant procedure she's having in a couple of week. its risky, and involves radiation and chemotherapy with an an 80 percent chance of survival. Her mother Doreen Flynn says its to treat a blood disease called Fanconi anemia.

"I call it FA for short - it's an autosommal recessive disorder, and therefore it's inherited. And basically it's a form of anemia that attacks the bone marrow and leads to bone marrow failure."

With FA, bone marrow also produces faulty cells that can often lead to cancers like leukemia. Without a transplant, the average life expectancy is in the mid-20s. Still, up until a few months ago, Jordan led a fairly normal life. She had to get check-ups every six months for blood counts, and yearly bone marrow biopsies. Those became routine. But in January, that all changed.

"She had a bone marrow biopsy that came back showing she had progressed with preleukemic cells in her bone marrow. Preleukemic cells are an absolute indicator of going into transplant, because you don't want them to develop into leukemia."

Jordan's platelet counts were dropping too. At this point, she needs blood transfusions every other day. But her levels are so low, her blood doesn't clot properly. The slightest pinch can bruise her. An accidental head bump can turn into life-threatening trauma.

"She cut herself shaving, so she is banned from shaving her legs, because she can't clot blood right now. So, I know she's 13, so she's going through typical teenage years of - 'What do you mean I can't shave?' That was her first thing, so."

it took several months for Jordan to find a donor. she's one of the approximate 5500 people who will receive a bone marrow transplant this year. That's out of an estimated 10 to 14 thousand who will look for donors. Those statistics don't sit well with Jeff Rowes. He's a senior attorney for the Institute for Justice, a civil liberties law firm who fought the bone marrow case.

""We think that after 30 years of experimenting with altruistic donation and still having substantial problems finding donors for certain people, we think it's time to at least consider the possibility of using compensation.""

The National Organ Transplant Act prohibits compensation for organ donation. at the time it was passed in 1984 , bone marrow was primarily donated by inserting a needle in the hip bone and extracting tissue. But a newer, more common method extracts bone marrow cells from the blood stream. It's similar to donating plasma, for which people are paid .  Last December, the 9th circuit court of appeals decided that those who donate marrow this way - through the bloodstream - can be compensated, and the decision has its critics.

"Well we're against the idea of compensation in general."

Michael Boo is the chief strategy officer at the National Marrow Donor Program, which manages the national donor registry.  He says there are over 9 million people on the registry, and hundreds of thousands more are added every year. Using money as an incentive for donors, says Boo, poses serious risks, as donors may be dishonest about their health records, and screening tests won't necessarily detect false claims.

"Certainly infectious diseases that are incurred close to the time of donation can't be picked up through these tests - HIV and hepatitis as a couple of examples. Or the patient's medical history where they've incurred something and we wouldn't be testing for it."

And Boo says, the National Marrow Donor Program is also connected to an international network that adds another 9 million potential donors to the list. But those organizations don't allow compensation, and if the U.S. does, he says, we could be disqualified from using that network. But supporters of compensation, including Institute for Justice attorney Jeff Rowes, Say those international organizations are only following the U.S.'s lead in opposing compensation.

"In other words, this is an ethical position that is the equivalent of  "We don't do things that are a felony in the US." The United States is the biggest part of the international registry."

Rowes says the intent of the case is not to create sudden sweeping changes in the existing donor system. rather it was to open the door to a pilot program in which donors would receive grants instead of cash - around 3000 dollars - to cover expenses such as mortgages or school tuition payments.

"The fact is we shouldn't let thousands of people die because we have a system, and we're not willing to at least question changing it."

Back at the Flynn household, Jordan's pink highlights are almost complete.

Family friend: "Do you want them chunky or blended?"
(Jordan) "Blended."
Family friend: "Alright"
(Jordan): "We don't like the chunky."

Doreen Flynn says she's lucky they found a donor for Jordan. But she has two younger daughters- seven-year old twins - who also have Fanconi anemia. Someday, they'll need transplants too.

"It's a roller coaster. I hide my feelings very well from my kids. I feel if I show weakness it kinda scares them a little bit, so I try not to show weakness in front of them. I do have my moments- I'm human. And I kinda just - I can't let the things that I can't control consume me."

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice says the government has not yet determined whether it will seek a Supreme Court review of Flynn's bone marrow case.