I think it is ludicrious to criminalize selling one's organs. The New York Times touches on it in this article.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/opinion/why-selling-kidneys-should-be-legal.html?ref=opinion

 

Why Selling Kidneys Should Be Legal

 

"On Thursday, I will donate one of my kidneys to someone I’ve never met. Most people think this sounds like an over-the-top personal sacrifice. But the procedure is safe and relatively painless. I will spend three days in the hospital and return to work within a month. I am 21, but even for someone decades older, the risk of death during surgery is about 1 in 3,000. My remaining kidney will grow to take up the slack of the one that has been removed, so I’ll be able do everything I can do now. And I’ll have given someone, on average, 10 more years of life, years free of the painful and debilitating burden of dialysis...."

 

 

To me it seems like a TON more lives would be saved, both sides win (the seller gets some much needed cash for his/herself and family, and the buyer gets to live a longer, more productive life), and whose business is it what I do with my body anyhow.

 

Plus it seems you can make some pro-choice arguments supporting it.

 

Think about how many lives would be improved if selling organs were legal. Sure there are drawbacks with the poor not necessarily getting their share, but think about how many more people would donate, thereby saving even more lives, if compensation were permitted.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

 

I can't wait till we can 3D Print organs and tissue and fill up entire warehouses, offering life saving replacements with no wait times and no cost.

I don't think that it should be criminal, no.  However, one aspect of the whole transplant process which needs to be finely scrutinized is the circumstances of how the organs are harvested. 

It's totally creepy to think about things like people being murdered for the purposes of profiting from the sale of their organs, or using organs from bodies riddled with disease or which haven't been properly stored, along with those which are of totally unknown origin. 

Unscrupulous procurers of organs will do some very inhumane things, in order to feed their greed.  It is very analogous to the used auto parts industry.  But while only major components from a car are labeled with a vehicle identification number, all human body parts can be identified by their DNA...

I don't think I could bring myself to sell a kidney for any amount of money.  After I'm dead however, they are up for grabs.  I hope to never undergo any surgery...

The process already is corrupt in some places; I've read of tissues being harvested from people after they die, and sold through the black market for transplant.

 

My concern with making body parts a marketable product is that market forces would drive pricing, and ability to pay would become a dominant decisive factor in who gets a transplant and who doesn't. If two people needed a kidney and both were genetic matches with only one kidney available, the person with the greatest ability to pay would have the best chance of getting the transplant and wealth could override otherwise pragmatic factors like age, overall general health, and the potential for returning to a productive life. A wealthy, obese, life-long heavy smoker and drinker with a life history of scams and shady dealing could win out over a fit, young, active person who works hard to support a family.

 

. A wealthy, obese, life-long heavy smoker and drinker with a life history of scams and shady dealing could win out over a fit, young, active person who works hard to support a family.

 

This is one issue where I am actually undecided and indeed could argue for either side, and yes the health-lifestyle issues are relevant.

 

However, the references to personal character are downright scary.  Indeed,  the very idea of this is one of the many reasons a lot of us oppose the nationalization of the health care system.

I don't quite understand the obese/scumbag argument. How is that any different from someone wealthy being able to afford life-saving medication that is completely unaffordable to others. I mean, at the end of the day, the only real distinction between me selling my kidney (illegal) and a pharmaceutical company selling Elaprase (legal) is that I probably need the money a whole lot more.

 

Not to mention that getting my compensated for marrow and child surrogacy is perfectly legal; are those two things really that different in principle than my selling a piece of my liver or kidney so I can pay my bills?

 

However, the references to personal character are downright scary.  Indeed,  the very idea of this is one of the many reasons a lot of us oppose the nationalization of the health care system.

 

 

 

Quote of the Day!!!!