Singapore is to change the law to allow kidney donors to be paid compensation, a move that is likely to reignite the debate about how to respond to the global shortage of transplantable organs.

The reform, which was announced by the health minister, Khaw Boon Wan, comes after several high profile convictions for the attempted sale and purchase of human organs in the Asian city-state earlier this year.

Although the decision was welcomed by many in Singapore’s medical community, some doctors warned that if the system was not regulated tightly enough it could create a “slippery slope” …