I had a dream last night. Stay with me here, I know people go “ugh” when blogs start this way….
There was a company that allowed people to sell their organs upon death. For example, if I died via a car accident I would have a pre-determined price on my heart, kidneys, eyes, etc. This company would collect my organs and store them until a buyer came along that was willing to pay the price I set for the organ. 20% of the selling price went to the company for a commission (since they are doing the holding/storing) and 80% of the selling price went to a benefactor of my choice.
The business model answered the supply and demand for organs that are not currently being met in a timely fashion via the traditional organ donation programs. Here, if you need a kidney you don’t have to wait for your turn on the list; you shop for one and pay what you’re willing to pay.
All in all not a bad business plan.
I thought about it more though and I think that if this would ever happen there would be a sharp decline in people giving up their organs “for free”. Why donate if you can sell and make Little Johnny an extra $2000 for your lung? This would really hurt people of lower income who could’t afford to buy them from an even shorter list of available organs.
Tom P told me about prisons in China being suspected of being organ mills where they are [accused of] killing people just to take their organs and give them to the rich. Holy cow!
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7 comments:
That is so wrong on so many levels, both morally (or lack thereof) and practicality.
I disagree with you on this one.
Oh yea. Then again, I may be biased. Afterall, I came with my own full set of *replacement* parts.
:D
Ok, this is my last comment in a row. I would much rather sell my spit (a la Jen's blog) than my organs. At least that way people won't want to kill me to get my organs so they survive - they would need me alive in order for me to keep producing the spit. Plus, spit production is nearly unlimited, so I could regenerate that. I only have 2 kidneys (well, based on my previous comment, I guess that'd be 4!).
I have heard about the prisons killing prisoners and selling their organs on the black market. I have heard it happens in other poorer parts of the world than just China too.
Dude, they're using dead Chinese for these Bodies exhibits too. Did you watch the expose on that where they were killing Chinese prisoners for this?
I agree with Martha that this is wrong, too, on many different levels. I'm not even going to start...
That is one crazy dream Karen!
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