In my black market Rhino horn post yesterday, I mentioned that a recent proposal to legalize a market in sustainably harvested Rhino horn:
. . . highlights some pretty standard debates about taboo markets in a new context. For example, one common point of contention is whether, when banning the market has failed to stop trading, society is better served by a regulated, legal market. This debate has occurred recently with respect to markets in prostitution and human organs, for example.
As if on cue, the Washington post began running a debate today on compensating organ donors. They begin with a “Primer” (my Kidney Transplantation Primer with Phil Cook is better, though J) that emphasizes some of the points I made in the Rhino post:
The proponents for change also say that a ban on selling organs helped to create the global black market for organs, mostly in the developing world. The literature on this topic is terrifying: stories of political dissidents killed to have their organs harvested or impoverished citizens tricked into dangerous operations. Some advocates say that a government-regulated system of compensation could help end organ theft.
The participants are:
Sally Satel, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and practicing psychiatrist at the Yale University School of Medicine,
Francis Delmonico, Harvard Medical School professor of surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and Alexander Capron, professor of law and medicine at the University of Southern California,
Scott Sumner, economist at Bentley University and blogger at The Money Illusion,
Benjamin Humphreys, program director at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute,
Nancy Scheper-Hughes, founder of Organ Watch and anthropology professor at University of California, Berkeley.
So far, the posts from Sally Satel (Generosity won’t fix our shortage of organs for transplants) and Frank Delmonico, with USC Law Prof Alex Capron (Our body parts shouldn’t be for sale) have been posted.
Related Posts:
How Can the Shortage of Kidneys for Transplantation Be Rectified?
Happy Birthday NOTA! (Now Go Away)
Cash for Kidneys: Reality is Complicated
Kidneys, Part II: The Limits of Deceased Donation Proposals
Just like Viet Nam, Grenada, Panama, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the rich always pay the poor to die for them. Even disasters like the Johnstown, Pa flood. Same deal.
Posted by: Sy Ablelman | December 29, 2015 at 08:42 PM