Should you be able to sell organs and body parts?

Posted by BitchStewie_@reddit | Libertarian | View on Reddit | 62 comments

Wondering what people on this sub think. There's a lot of people who die every year because there aren't enough organs for the needed transplants. Kidneys especially are one of the organs with the highest need AND you can live with 1 kidney. Same with livers (you can donate a portion of your liver and be fine).

Why are we letting people die who need transplants when many people who sell a kidney or liver piece in a heartbeat at market value.

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MagicTX@reddit

Yes. I’d sell mine if I could.

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Mrandomc@reddit

Yes.

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Scerpes@reddit

Sure…you donate a kidney and you’re a hero…I donate a dozen and everybody loses their minds.

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LumberJack732@reddit

Especially if they’re not all yours.

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Electronic_Ad9570@reddit

Well they don't need to be so long as he bought them for a reasonably negotiated price or received them as donations from others.

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Scerpes@reddit

Possession is 9/10ths of the law!!

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Electronic_Ad9570@reddit

Yes, and be able to get fitted with prosthetics that are homemade if you want to take that risk.

I wanna remove my shoulders and get some funky forearm blades and a grenade launcher built into the new arm.

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demongoku@reddit

Idealistically, yes, people should be able to sell organs and body parts. Your body is your property and you can do what you want with it.

Pragmatically, not any time soon or not at all.The creation of market forces for organs and body parts incentivizes bad actors to coerce people to sell their organs. If you go into debt, could the debtor require you to sell your organs to repay them? Do debtors get ownership of your dead body, liquidating it to recover costs? Organs are also exceptionally finite. You have one of most organs and two of a few. Once they are gone, you may get another one but you'll have a detrimental quality of life. To top it off, no one is going to be able to successfully pass legislation to allow an organ market.

The real answer to this market need/want is artificial organs, whether mechanical or organic grown. There are too many potential rights violations for selling your own organs, but at the same time the medical field needs more organs for transplants. We already have the beginnings of this with human organs being grown in pigs.

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RailLife365@reddit

I think one big problem that we'd see is that the human body would quickly become viewed as property. Which you touched on, but I hypothesize would become much worse. Imagine a person going to bankruptcy court, and being expected to liquidate their organs and limbs before being considered. Obviously I'm being very extreme here, and don't forsee that ever being a possibility due to legislation. However, being as I distrust the government, I have to as if that is a power the government should hold?

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Sovereign_Black@reddit

Agreed, this is the correct answer. Too many perverse incentives for people who already have a ton of resources to victimize people who have too few. The movie Repo! The Genetic Opera comes to mind.

In our current timeline it would assuredly be abused.

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DryAssumption@reddit

To those answering yes to organ sales.. should you be able to buy an organ from someone that will definitely kill them? E.g. their heart

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Meatball546@reddit

Yes, so long as the donor can knowingly consent without duress.

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ImportantSolid5862@reddit

IIRC they are trying to "3d prient" organs using the patients out cell samples. Maybe in 20 years from now they may actually get it working.

https://seas.harvard.edu/news/2024/08/3d-printed-blood-vessels-bring-artificial-organs-closer-reality

https://longlifeandhealth.org/the-future-of-3d-printed-human-organs-and-body-parts/

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demongoku@reddit

Appreciate the links, thanks! I didn't originally include 3d printed organs into discussion because I am a little behind on the current state of the art tech and thought pig-grown human organs were more promising. However, the vascular tissue growth is exceptionally promising!!

20 years seems like a solid average, I imagine certain organs may be closer to 10 years and others may be closer to 30 or 40 years. Honestly, I'd hope for hearts and blood vessels to be the soonest grown organs.

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JoStonesoul@reddit

As long as they're your own, sure.

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bb0110@reddit

Consent is never as black and white as people make it seem, so no. You can put people in pretty precarious situations to “consent”, that doesn’t mean actual consent is occurring.

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Spoot5@reddit

Exactly..

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ChrisWayg@reddit

Yeah, apparently 6 billion people or so „consented“ to an experimental gene therapy called „Covid vaccine“. We personally saw the coercion that happened. In this case it was a combination of government and large corporations.

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Science_Turtle@reddit

Probably not. It would quickly become harmful and predatory. You can't even sell blood without it becoming a major issue. Besides, of we're at a point where that is necessary, we have already failed as a society.

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Spoot5@reddit

I completely agree; don’t know why it’s being downvoted. Yes the idea is there but implementation is insane. This is why no libertarian ever will get elected.

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Spoot5@reddit

Because of shit like this

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mississauga145@reddit

Yes, free market pricing or contract service?

Rare blood type, you and I are a match, now if the price is right we can have a deal, no I don't care what the market rate for a kidney is, I know what I have don't low ball me.

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BentOutOfShape69@reddit

Women already sell their eggs, and rent their uteruses. If you want to get rid of a kidney, it's yours, so why the hell not.

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c0ffee_jelly@reddit

2nd kidney should be the starter budget

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Obvious_Scratch9781@reddit

As long as I don’t have to pay for your healthcare later due to your decision

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pro_charlatan@reddit

Our body our choice

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Royal_IDunno@reddit

Yes.

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Tater_Sauce1@reddit

Yup. Consent

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BKEDDIE82@reddit

Absolutely. It would also get people to sell upon death that wouldn't donate.

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Chris_The_Guinea_Pig@reddit

Imagine tou die and your kids are now set for life because you sorted out a nice deal for your organs.

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BKEDDIE82@reddit

Exactly. The doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies all make money from transplants. But donors get nothing.

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_HeadySpaghetti_@reddit

THIS.

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Wot106@reddit

I was just on the Rimworld sub, abd was going to make a much different answer.

Morally, no. People driven to desperation can do depraved things, whether rich or poor, and, if we allow such things, it's an easy descent to things humans have no business messing with (artifical wombs, clones for organs, etc)

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Wot106@reddit

If you are playing Rimworld, make sure you remove in the right order to maximise profit. If it is a female, you can keep her and reproduce for more organs to harvest. Watch your colony wealth level and build appropriate defences.

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Diarrea_Cerebral@reddit

I think we found Milei's alt account

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Antique_Mind_8694@reddit

On one hand I think yes, but I also believe someone could be put in a position of duress where they'd made to sell an organ for someone else to profit off of against their will

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nv-erica@reddit

Possibly. But adults should not be prohibited from making bad decisions.

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Crazy_Trip_6387@reddit

yes exactly this was the point I made yesterday when someone asked if prostition can be considered consent if they wouldn't have the sex if it wasn't for the money, but in the end they still have the decision, and the past to have made better decisions in life, ect

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kvakerok_v2@reddit

You already can.

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Zaurius1@reddit

Sell anything thats yours, do any drugs...

Just wait until you're of sound mind to make any life altering decisions.

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