Why is it Illegal?

[MedStudentMicah]

Why is it Illegal to sell a kidney? I mean seriously, woman can sell eggs and be compensated for carrying a baby inside them for 9 months. And the fact that people are dieing everyday and this could be fixed just by undoing a law. I say someone with a Law background should start a petition, I would gladly sign it. It's my body I should be aloud to sell to someone in need exspecially if it gives someone life and pays off my student loans, seems like a win win to me. Anyone Agree, disagree? This is a ethics chat only.

[Des]

Disagree!!!!!

Bodyparts should not be for sale.

Then you never know if you do it for the right reasons.
Desperate  people do desperate things and for this reason selling off organs should NEVER be legal.

(ps. you opened up a hornest nest here)

[RichardMEL]

oh my, this is SO a hornet's nest.

All I can say is the perspective I was given at a transplant semninar I went to some years ago. It was in the context of talking to potential living donors, and it was stressed to us to not hassle them or offer them anything to donate because it HAD to be absolutely altruistic.

I think the problem is, as Des has pointed out, that allowing selling of organs, or rather payment for organs, then leads to all kinds of abuses to be carried out. For example, the recipient will owe the donor $$$, and that can be held over them. People being forced to give up their health for money (as you say, you want to pay off your debts for example). Basically it also then means the "haves" are at an advantage vs the "have nots" to get their hands on an organ. If I am willing to pay whatever, I can then jump the queue. Is that fair? is it morally right?

I think the other aspect of this that is so important, is that Micah is talking about a simple idea: he donates his kidney to someone, and they help pay off his debts. Simple right? Fair? perhaps.. though I am not certain a dollar value can be put on relative health gained by a successful transplant of a kidney, let alone the potential risk to the donor - is that worth it 20 years later? And what about if the donor then demands MORE money from the recipient(for whatever reason) holding that guilt over them "I gave you a kidney..."

However consider the situation of organ-tourists to the 3rd world, Russia, China etc...

Rich Westerner goes and pays say $100,000 for a kidney transplant. How much does the donor get? Sometimes as little as $1500-$2000. The middlemen, the brokers, they suck up all the money! Now yes, in a poor country you might say "ah but $2000 is years of income for some! A fortune!" but the recipient has paid 50 times that amount!!!! The brokers get fat through no risk to themselves! That is DEFINITELY not fair and out in my moral handbook.

Don't get me wrong, you know if I had a living donor, I think accomidations would be made. For example, paying for hotel bills, medical expenses, etc would happen. Heck I even told my sister I'd send her to Spain. The catch is I'm sending her anyway(she was denied transplant) and it wasn't that I would send her to spain *IF* or *WHEN* she gave me a kidney, it was like something I wanted to do for her. She just can't decide when she wants to go.

I think the whole thing is so grey and open to so much abuse that it is such a can of worms and a huge moral issue.

Just as I believe organ tourism is wrong I simply would not go there. I wouldn't buy an organ from anyone. I think it's morally wrong to abuse my relative wealth in this way. I'll take my turn with everyone else thanks.

[paul.karen]

Your body your decision.

But we as far as government goes are not smart enough to think or do for ourselves.

Same as Abortion.  Who the hell is ANYONE to tell a lady she should or shouldn't get an abortion.  We are the ones responsable for OUR bodies.  Yet we cant make certain decisions about our bodies.

As for brokers??  Why would you use a broker are there even brokers for buying kidneys oh wait thats illegal.    If there are brokers bypass them.

Put an ad on craigslist for selling or wanting a kidney.  The two parties meet and work out an arrangement.  Paperwork is drawn up and the decision is finalized much like buying a car-boat-house-pet-business ect ect.  I just bought a house.  If in four years the old owner comes by and says he didnt get enough money for the house or he changed his mind and wants the house back should i feel bad?  No ill have him arrested for trespassing.


One thing i think that we can ALL agree on is there is a massive shortage of bodyparts.
And the lines are getting longer not shorter.
Again who is anyone to tell me what i can or cant do to my body.

Government doesn't always work or gasp know or do what is best for us.

Of course all this would IMO be determined after the donor had a complete mental examine to make sure they are in sound mind and health.

[sutphendriver]

1 vote for allowing a person to sell their organs.  If your moral compass wouldn't allow you to purchase said kidney.....then don't.

If my transplant does not happen before the end of the year, I am taking a little vacation across the pond.  I have given the  "system" its fair chance but now I am taking upon myself to rectify the situation.  I say, take your health into your hands and do something about it.  Waiting for a team of doctors and administrators to deem you worthy of good health is crazy.  Everyday doing dialysis and taking all those meds just accelerates the deterioration of your body. 80% of the posts here are of failing mental or physical health that could be cured with 3 hrs of surgery and 25k......thats it, cured for less time and money than it takes to buy a used car. ( Maybe, just maybe its illegal because US hospitals get 150-300k for a procedure that a smaller country with BETTER results than the US average gets 25k for....hmmmmm.)

I dont post much, but this is a topic I have given much thought to.  Do your research, and I mean real research on this topic before you bow up and start quoting lies and generalizations you've heard from "someone", "somewhere" on "some news show".

[Rerun]

I agree with Micha!

                    It is ridiculous that the docs, hospitals labs etc. make tons of money off transplants (even if they fail) and the donor gets nothing. 

[MedStudentMicah]

Des and RichardMEL: as far as not knowing if someone is doing it for the right reasons... It very easily could be implemented and in fact I think it would be a great Idea for everyone who wants to sell an organ of any kind to undergo a psychological evaluation. If that was implemented would you still be against organ selling?

RichardMEL: If the government was involved there would be alot of living donors trying to donate. This is great, because it would also put a cap on the transaction. As well as a 3rd party system could be established so the living donor and the recipient never have personal information about each other, including last names. As far as the broker goes, the government would be involved so it would be taxed. Clearly nothing ridiculous probably 10% at most. Once living donors were implementeded finding another donor would be if anything, easier 20 years down the road. As for your moral ethics, that would be something each donor and recipientnt would have to decide, and i for one respect your opinionin.

paul.karen: That would be amazing if you could find organs as easy as going on craigslist. However, without a middleman such as the government, I feel as if
ALOT of the newspaper ads, craigslist adsetcct.. would take advantage of thosewho badly need a kidney and would most likely have ALOT of scams. And something like this would be as pure as possible, and i for ondon'tnt want to cause more pain to someone already in need. To protect all scams from happeningusingng a middle man would be great! this would get threcipientsts banaccountnt to make sure they have enough to pay post surgery. Even perhaps do something like a bail bond where they get your house if the donor loses a certain amount of money they put up acollateralal in this investment, in the case something happens.

sutphendriver: Thank you for youinputut. Much like many of you I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I am a Med student and know very well the payments hospitals, doctors and most of all insurance gets. You end up spending more in the long run by not paying someone for their organ, then you do paying for hospitals dialysisis, meds etc. If this situation was fixed I for one would be the first to post my kidney up for sale. I wish you the best!

Rerun: To me a failing organ is like buying a used car. If the person crashes it on their way home, the seller shouldn'tnt be the one at fault and should receiveve their money. Its situation like this that would make selling a kidney complicated. Perhaps the seller should get half the payment for the donation. And the other half if the organ works. So at least its not a total fail for donor and still leave some money so the recipient can try again.

Micah

[Des]

Micah,

I am from South Africa and would like to just inform you of the situation in our country.

MOney is everything. We have lots and lots of very poor people. Most of these people are going to state hospitals. Now the state hospitals refuses ALL the people dialysis that do not qualify for a transplant and  they are sent home to die. It is just the privelaged people on private medical aid that gets dialysis. So state hospitals only keep the ones alive that will eventually get a possible transplant.

Now.... someone rich will be able to afford to buy a kidney. What about all those poor helpless people just waiting to die.

Your solution of just buying a kidney is a very selfish  and not well thought through. It will not solve the desperate need for organs.
Now I know you will tell me that if people remove themselves from the list and go and buy a kidney that it will free up some other kidney for the next person on the line..


The buying and selling of kidneys will not solve the shortage of organs  - it will just be  a way out for very few  desperate rich people.
I do however support government refunding donors for travel, wages lost or expenses occured.

[Des]

Des and RichardMEL: as far as not knowing if someone is doing it for the right reasons
Micah

Money is not the right reason. Paying off your debt is not the right reason. Helping someone from your heart because you care - is the right reason.

Please .... this is a very personal opinion, and reflects how I feel.

[okarol]

Related threads:
Paying for spare body parts http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=19601.0
The Case for Paying Organ Donors http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=16353.0
Worldwide Market Fuels Illegal Traffic in Organs http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=15011.0
Is it time to offer compensation for live kidney donations? http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=14175.0

[cariad]

Micah, hi and welcome! You really need to post in the intro thread if you plan on staying around here.

This is so much more than an ethics thread to the people who live it every day, so I rather resent the attempt to objectify this as if it were some abstract discussion. It will be to you, but not to most of us here. You said you want to donate a kidney, but now you are making it sound like you want to sell a kidney, which is a very different idea. This section is for potential donors. I wish we could move this to a debates section because I don't read the debates on here if I can help it. I am put off by a future doctor (let's assume) seeing IHD members as a market to exploit.

I agree with Des completely. A psychological evaluation? Come on, I could outsmart one of those when I was 12. Pay me to outsmart them and prepare to be dazzled. Anytime there is a large bit of money on offer, abuse will follow. This will lead to exploitation of the poor, most especially women and children, as usual, and people who don't have a problem with that need that psychological eval that you mentioned. No, it would not be amazing to go on Craigslist and find organs. That would, in fact, be disgusting. The sex trade used to be on Craigslist, and we all know how well that turned out for them. You do realise there is so much more to transplant than finding a willing donor? If you do not know this person, there is absolutely no way to tell if they have been having, for example, sex with dangerous partners (dangerous meaning those with high incidence of STDs.) Some of these STDs do not turn up on tests for six months. And getting a kidney 20 years down the road would be easier? What??!! From a medical perspective, that is utterly false.

Micah, you might jump to sell your organ, but I strongly believe that it would quickly become stigmatized, like prostitution, because it will be something that desperately poor people do in droves. This country would become a funnel for the poor of the world. Then kidney sellers could complain about the poor immigrants driving down the price of organs and we would have something else to blame on outsiders. Your idea comparing this to bail bonding is revolting. Truly.

sutphendriver, while it is certainly not for me to tell you what to do, what you are contemplating is really, really dangerous. When money is involved, do you think they care if you're a good match or not? I thought you were doing well on dialysis. Sorry to hear otherwise. Oh, and transplant is no panacea. You are kidding me if you think that it will cure the mental and physical health problems mentioned on here. Sorry, no. It does not work that way. Voice of experience here.

Anyhow, I don't want to live in a world where people pine for the opportunity to further exploit sick people financially. We have enough of that in the US. (Des, money is everything here, too.) Did no one read the Nancy Scherper-Hughes article where she caught several famous US hospitals agreeing to SELL her a transplant. Scherper-Hughes is an anthropologist. The anthropologists have been warning against organ sales since the beginning of time. Ignore them at your peril.

[glitter]

(Des, money is everything here, too.)

just a small point- in South Africa, if I read correctly, people who have no insurance- do not get dialysis, and die.

In the USA- people don't die because they are refused dialysis, no-one is refused dialysis here.

My mind is so split about this whole subject, would my husband still be here if we had bought him a kidney? No one can answer that, because there is no way to know.....but I do think about it. All ethical arguements aside, when it comes down to the love of my life, shouldn't I have done everything in my power to save him?  If killing another human being and stealing their kidneys and re-planting them into my husband would have kept him from dying, and I knew it- would I have done it? YES, and that probably makes me a horrible person, but I would be a horrible person- and he would be living. So if just buying one kidney could have saved him, in retrospect, I would do it in a minute.

My reasoning is from a point of grief- if I were not grieving, perhaps it would be different, so there it is- desperate people do desperate things.

[MedStudentMicah]

Des: glitter said it best "in South Africa, if I read correctly, people who have no insurance- do not get dialysis, and die. In the USA- people don't die because they are refused dialysis, no-one is refused dialysis here." Unfortunately not everyone has people in their life that are willing to risk their life for someone else. This is where in my opinion money can help, even if its selfish.
 
cariad: I'm sorry I didn't realize that there was a debate section and also I will go post an entry in the Intro ASAP. Anyways... psychological examinations are more about testing your well being rather then anything. In the medical field, evaluations are more about making sure you are in a clear state of mind. If someone is in a clear state of mind, they have full right to, deny any future dialysis, to deny resuscitation (DNR) and much much more. So just like those situations, how would selling a kidney from a fully competent individual even if they need money, any different? Also, i believe what your referring to as far as a kidney transplant is concerned, is organ rejection mainly. This can show up 6 months down the road due to your body slowly rejecting the organ. Of course with any post surgery let alone one of a major organ your own bodies fighting capabilities will be down, which will increase your risk for getting an infection. The STDs your referring to is HIV and CMV. HIV has a marker in your body called CD4. This is hard to read until after a few months so that the CD4 count get get to a point where it can be read. CMV however is part of the herpes family which can also be received via dialysis. But it doesn't have much effect unless your immune system is down alot like post transplant. But you are much more likely to get this from the many dialysis you've been on and its just hiding then on then a single transplant. As far as Exploitation goes, how would paying an individual for a kidney be any different then paying the insurance company?
 
glitter: I am so sorry for your loss and to bring up a subject that has you reflect back in ways that that make you wonder what if. The last thing I want to do is upset anyone.
 
I personally have no problem of donating my kidney for someone in need, with or without money. So I ask that this forum please do not judge me based on a debate. I would also like to state that I have donated Bone Marrow and I donate blood all the time. Everyone has their own opinion, and I ask the forum to respect and be mindful to others. Casting down someones opinion/ideas as revolting or otherwise is just an opinion of your own. A healthy debate is great, but attacking opinions of anyone is just rude.

Micah =]

[cariad]

cariad: I'm sorry I didn't realize that there was a debate section and also I will go post an entry in the Intro ASAP. Anyways... psychological examinations are more about testing your well being rather then anything. In the medical field, evaluations are more about making sure you are in a clear state of mind. If someone is in a clear state of mind, they have full right to, deny any future dialysis, to deny resuscitation (DNR) and much much more. So just like those situations, how would selling a kidney from a fully coherent individual even if they need money, any different? Also, i believe what your referring to as far as a kidney transplant is concerned, is organ rejection mainly. This can show up 6 months down the road due to your body slowly rejecting the organ. Of course with any post surgery let alone one of a major organ your own bodies fighting capabilities will be down, which will increase your risk for getting an infection. The STDs your referring to is HIV and CMV. HIV has a marker in your body called CD4. This is hard to read until after a few months so that the CD4 count get get to a point where it can be read. CMV however is part of the herpes family which can also be received via dialysis. But it doesn't have much effect unless your immune system is down alot like post transplant. But you are much more likely to get this from the many dialysis you've been on and its just hiding then on then a single transplant. As far as Exploitation goes, how would paying an individual for a kidney be any different then paying the insurance company?

Micah, there really is not a debates section - just 'Obamamania' which would not make any sense for you to post under. That particular comment was more to the moderators, just as a suggestion, and I would not expect you to know these things yet, so don't worry about it.

As for feeling attacked, I personally do not see where anyone attacked you. Having said that, coming into a renal site where people live this day in and day out, it probably is not the best idea to start such a provocative discussion, suggesting we should take homes away from transplant patients if they cannot pay up (leaving a newly transplanted patient homeless? Do them a favour and just say if they cannot pay, we shoot them. This is no small procedure and can take years to recover from, if ever). Sorry, but your tone makes it sound like you fancy yourself the expert in transplant and are coming to educate me and everyone else here. If that is not how you meant it, then perhaps taking a moment to consider how close to this subject most of us are would help you compose posts that tread a little more lightly on this topic. I was not referring to rejection - that can be dealt with (sometimes, and it can crop up at any time, not just 6 months, don't know where you got that notion) - I was referring to PRA.

In transplant evals, there is much more to the psychosocial than "testing your well-being" as you will discover should you ever donate or go into this field of medicine. Both of my donors donated both bone marrow and a kidney, so I am pretty familiar with how those evals go. They are mainly looking for coercion along the lines of "donate to me or I will.... beat the crap out of you/ divorce you/disown you/ruin your reputation/whatever" There are people in this country and in this world who are very much under the control of someone else and your psychological evals would never pick up on it. What about the child whose parents send her off to donate? In certain cultures, this would be expected and it would not be considered abuse on the part of the parents. Similar to the men who sent their wives or girlfriends to work at the Mustang Ranch. (This was documented an interesting but much-too-graphic book written by a doctor some years ago. Don't tell me it cannot happen.) Also, there are issues about looking for past-abuse or trauma, past drug use, past alcohol addiction. It's a lot.

I disagree with your CMV data. I have not heard of someone getting CMV from dialysis, and I just read an abstract on PubMed that says that there is no increased risk. I was CMV- going into surgery the second time. I don't consider CMV an STD anymore than I consider chicken-pox or mono an STD. CMV can kill transplant patients which is why you will be tested for CMV as a donor and as a recipient. My second donor was CMV+, so I take Valcyte. HIV is a huge concern. University of Chicago was embroiled in a lawsuit over it, where I think it is clear that there will be no winners.

You are oversimplifying this issue in my opinion. When I write everything is about money here, it is really irrelevant if things are worse in SA. US hospitals have been caught selling transplants to people. We are in the midst of a financial crisis that was created by sheer greed. You can buy your way to just about anything in this country, and I challenge anyone to prove me wrong. I say it would be disastrous to sell organs, it would make the medical field even colder and more inhumane than it already is, it would exploit the poor, it would turn people to crime to get the money they need, and if it turned out to be as bad as I suspect it would be, just try to get that genie back in the bottle. If you truly want to help, why not lobby for the opt-out policy, why not spread the word about organ donation to your friends and colleagues, why not research growing organs from stem cells?

Glitter, I can certainly hear the grief in your post. I can understand why you feel that way. I would probably say the same thing in your situation - I probably have said the same thing. But if it came down to it, could I kill someone or exploit someone who is every bit as important to other humans as my loved-ones are to me to save someone in my house? I just don't know. I wish you did not have to go through losing Jack.

[sutphendriver]

sutphendriver, while it is certainly not for me to tell you what to do, what you are contemplating is really, really dangerous. When money is involved, do you think they care if you're a good match or not? I thought you were doing well on dialysis. Sorry to hear otherwise. Oh, and transplant is no panacea. You are kidding me if you think that it will cure the mental and physical health problems mentioned on here. Sorry, no. It does not work that way. Voice of experience here.

the match is not an issue as the doctors I am seeing use the same testing parameters used int he states, they are all trained here anyways. (a 4 antigen match or better is guaranteed)  I am doing very well on dialysis and am in excellent health....I plan on staying that way.  I refuse to waste away on a machine when I can do something about it.  As for experience, Ive been doing this for 14 years now.  I have seen hundreds of people slowly waste away and die waiting for a transplant.  My grandfather said there are two types of people, doers and dont'ers.  If the status quo is good for you...great!  It is not good enough for me and I'm doing something about it.

[Quickfeet]

warning crazy rant to follow.  It would be best if no one reads it.

For paul.karen: Why don't they take the baby they scrape out of the lady and put it in some one else to carry to full term then we can chop it up for parts. And everyone wins. Why is it necessary to kill it? I can understand her right to remove the baby from her body, but why does she also get the right to have them throw the baby in the trash?

How is the baby the lady's body when it doesn't have the same DNA that the lady has? So my catheter is my body just because it is inside me?
Who owns the body with conjoined twins?

If you punch a pregnant woman in the stomach and kill her fetus, you would be charged with murder. How is that fair? So the Lady gets to kill her kid but if you do, you are a bad guy. Shouldn't it only be considered assult?

How come that lady that droned her kids got in trouble? It's her body. She just procrastinated. Now she's a horrible mom, poor lady. Since I am my moms body does that Mean I can kill her? or would that be suicide?

Am I legally allowed to cut my own leg off? IT is my body after all.

You know what else is bullshit, it's illegal for me to kill myself, but a woman can kill as many of her kids as she likes. what kind of crazy world do I live in? its illegal for me to smoke weed, but if I was a woman I could kill babies. 

[cariad]

the match is not an issue as the doctors I am seeing use the same testing parameters used int he states, they are all trained here anyways. (a 4 antigen match or better is guaranteed)  I am doing very well on dialysis and am in excellent health....I plan on staying that way.  I refuse to waste away on a machine when I can do something about it.  As for experience, Ive been doing this for 14 years now.  I have seen hundreds of people slowly waste away and die waiting for a transplant.  My grandfather said there are two types of people, doers and dont'ers.  If the status quo is good for you...great!  It is not good enough for me and I'm doing something about it.

The status quo is actually pretty good for me now, but I had to work really hard to get here, educate myself, and plead with many doctors until I found one willing to work with me on my terms. I wish others in renal failure could have my success. There is certainly much I would like to see change about the transplant process, if that is what you meant by the "status quo".

You've been on dialysis 14 years? Or in renal failure? Post-transplant? I've been post-transplant 34+ years, and few people enjoy the success I've had. It is not a miracle cure. I did not think that was even under dispute, on this site or any other. If you trust these doctors, go for it. I genuinely hope it works for you. I wouldn't wish the failure of overseas transplants on anyone, least of all a fellow IHD member. Good luck!

[RichardMEL]

Some very good and interesting points raised here both pro and con.

The key point here is that everyone' morals/ethics are different, and their own personal choice. Clearly some would be happy/willing to risk it all and go O/S to buy a kidney. I would not for various reasons including not wanting to abuse my relative wealth/the health of a poor person, the questionable medical standards/ethics in that 3rd world country, the middlemen payout and so on. That's my call. Everyone's different. I'm not going to abuse someone for taking that path just because I would not take it - I think that would be a mite hypocritical for someone who is all about having the freedom to choose, and to take responsibility for said choices.

I think Micah's original suggestion that he wants to donate to a stranger is WONDERFUL. I mean that sincerley. The complications come when you then state that you want to receive money. Yes, tehnically you are giving "goods" and should be compensated for those goods... but this is such a grey area, open to abuse (as cariad and others have said) - it's so difficult and open up for exploitation by middlemen(as in the third world) and others (eg: Michigan Organ Donor). Talk about government being involved? ha! That probably introduces more problems than it solves.

I definitely Do like the idea though of living donors being given tax cuts and other benefits by the government for their donation. I mean if my brother donates to me and keeps me off dialysis for a few years, that saves the state $$$ and he should get some kind of rebate or something from the govt for that. That would then take the need off the recipient to be able to pay up, but would provide for a defned benefit for the donor who would be doing selfless that can benefit society as a whole (one less person off the cadaveric list).

I think allowing the selling of organs would lead to a situation where the "haves" (ie: wealthy) get the most benefit, and the poor are left to wait on a family member to donate(who may then turn around and demand money anyway - and how cruel would THAT be?) or to wait on the cadaveric list. So in essence if I have money I can skip the queue? While I am aware that is a cornerstone of capitalism, and happens in so many facets of life already, do we need to create a situation like this?

Micah you should sign up as an altruistic donor. The gift should be its own reward. Karma may reward you in other ways to get your debts paid off.

[Riki]

Most of the people that I know on dialysis (myself included) live at or below the poverty line and would never be able to find the money to buy a kidney, so we have no choice but to wait or hope that a member of their family grows a set and gets tested (yes, I have issues with my family over this). As Richard said, it would be the haves vs the have nots, and the have nots would lose yet again.  With lists and altruistic donations, it is more fair, because money or status in the community have no say in whether or not you get a kidney

[Rerun]

Get the rich people off the "list" and we would have a better chance.

                     

[Riki]

Money or social status shouldn't have a say in who gets a kidney.. that was my point.  If the rich were allowed to buy kidneys, or pay donors, anyone who donated, whether it be their own organs or those of a deceased loved one, they would expect payment. Those of us, and I"m sure there's many, who live at or below the poverty line would never been able to pay

sounds too much like the movie, Repo Men

[Des]

Get the rich people off the "list" and we would have a better chance.

                     

Yeah!!! get them rich people off.... (joking)

Now that I think of it , you have a good point there!

[paul.karen]

Quickfeet what are you going on about?  Taking a baby out of one woman putting it into another woman then chopping the baby up for parts. 

What kind of thoughts are running around in your head?  Not to mention your way off topic here.
I had ONE sentece about womans rights(as an example) and you went off directed at me for my viewpoint.

I say yes chop your leg off if it will make you feel better.  Smoke some weed before hand for the pain.

Im glad you dont think a woman has the right to make there own decisions when it comes to THERE own body.  I for one think we should be able to make OUR own decisions when it comes to our bodies.

[Des]

Off topic : sorry

Killing a baby - another human being - is NOT making a decision on your OWN body, it is deciding for another human - the baby.

Back to topic : sell organs - those who can afford it , buy  - those who can't , don't

I still don't have to like it.

[kristina]

MedStudentMicah, I dare say you must have put this same question “Why Is It Illegal?” to one of your medical Professors. If you have, what did they say?

I cannot answer your question. But, I am under the impression that the reason why it might be illegal is that medical opinion believes that the human body should keep the organs which it was designed to have.

Humans have two kidneys, so surely there is a good reason for this. By legalizing the selling/buying of one kidney it may pre-dispose someone to medical problems due to their only having one kidney.

Of course, some people live with one kidney but why then were we given two kidneys?

Perhaps, there is great risk attached to kidney damage, more so then other organs, and therefore having two functioning kidneys is more desirable.

Though, I am not comfortable with this reasoning because would it not have been desirable to have a second heart etc.?

Anyway, this is all I can think of at the moment.