The Ethics Of Organ Selling

So, when a recent seller was looking to profit from the sale of his kidney, he went to eBay and started the bidding at $25,000; the bidders sent the price up to $5.7 million. But eBay spoiled the fun. Apparently, there is a federal law against selling your body parts and eBay has some issue with supporting illegal activities.

My first reaction is to wonder why there is a law against selling your own body parts. For one thing, isn’t it my body? If I’m allowed to poison myself with cigarettes and alcohol, why can’t I sell a part of my body to help someone else live? Surely this affects no one other than the buyer and the seller. If no one is hurt, why legislate against it? The answer is that, despite popular belief, we do not live in a free society. Though we

One objection might be that with organs for sale, only the wealthy could obtain the organs. To that I have two responses. First of all, health care in this country is already too expensive, leaving the poor unable to receive adequate treatment. This would not change a thing. Reform of our pitiful health care system is important, but it is a separate issue. Second, have a little faith in the market system. With the incentive to leave money for their families, many more thousands of people would take the time to arrange for organ sale after death. With this increased supply, the price would fall. More importantly, the increased supply would save thousands of lives.

One could ask “Won\'t organ selling draw down-and-outs with lower quality organs?” The market will reduce the price for their organs, testing will weed out unacceptable risks, and the risks will outweigh the lives saved anyway. “What about the risk that some people will be coerced or will act impulsively?” Careful screening and having a required waiting period can be mandated. “Aren\'t people who sell their organs out of desperate financial need acting involuntarily?” No more so than when they stoop to cleaning bathrooms for minimum wage. If exploiting the poor is such a concern, then require a minimum income for anyone who sells their organs.

I have pointed out arguments for and against organ selling. What we really need to do is to ask the general population what they believe. We can’t let the government instill upon us antiquated ideas about morality; most of them wouldn’t know about morals if it bit them in the butt. We need to put this to a popular vote, give the reasons for and against selling body parts so everyone can see the issue at hand, instead of just giving one side of the issue and making people afraid to make a decision. If I had the chance to sell a kidney and profit $50,000 or more, you can bet I would sell it. I have been brought up to believe that almost everything has a price, and that if left to our own devises and moral conscience most people will make the right decision. There will always be people that, no matter what laws you have in place, they will break them; some people consider that human nature. The government shouldn’t try to keep people safe by enacting laws that protect people from themselves. In keeping the price higher for organs, it creates a black market and actually creates the “t

Some topics in this essay:
Transplant Act, Transweb Web, Organ Selling, risks associated, increased supply, selling body, organ selling, safety risks associated, proponents prohibition, bought sold, people sell, “tissue factories”, black market, safety risks,