Live Organ Donations.

[Gob]

Cheers, and your perspective makes the debate more relevant, though I have to say I do hope the idea of benevolent donation persists.

[rubato]

"...
Since I can give a kidney to a designee now by donating directly as an altruistic gift why should I not be able to choose a designee who can offer me an improvement in the quality of my life as I improve his?

My body, my choice.

Creating the 'opportunity' for 'improvement' simultaneously creates the opportunity for terrible coercion.

Your body your choice. His body his choice. How is it his 'choice' when he needs $10,000 to pay for his child's tuition? His child's orthodontia? His wife's fibroid surgery?



yrs,
rubato

[Andrew D]

If he needed $10,000 for his child's tuition or orthodontia or his wife's fibroid surgery, why would he be buying one of @meric@nwom@n's organs?

[Jarlaxle]

What "live donors"?

The only live donation at the moment is within families.?

No, it is not. Anyone who is a match can donate for anyone else who is a match, and it goes on all the time.

And do you seriously, really, honestly believe that someone who is altruistic enough to consider a live donation will suddenly change into a careless rapacious greedy bastard only interested in making money out of their donation?

People consider live donation now because it is the only choice, because organs cannot be sold. I repeat my question, you tell me - you have the choice of donating your kidney to a complete stranger, or selling it for $500,000. Which would you choose?

(your failure to answer this question the first time already told me what your honest answer would be)

Prior to my death (in which case, use my organs, it's not like I'll be needing them), I would not consider for one millisecond donating a kidney under any circumstances other than a sibling or one of my nephews needing it. However...pay off my mortgage & put $200,000+ in the bank for me and I'll sure as hell consider it.

[loCAtek]

I'm an organ donor too, no one had to pay me to do it.

Why go through all the trouble of organ donation for money?

If anyone wants to sell their body, there's no one (really) stopping you or I from becoming a prostitutes tomorrow.

[oldr_n_wsr]

I gotta agree with scooter on this one. Going down the road of being able to sell ones own body parts to the highest bidder is just plain wrong IMO. Too many opportunities for coersion and deals and such. And then of course with even lesser things than kidneys like bone marrow. Give me $100 and you can have my bone marrow or better yet, give me $50 today and I'll let you test me and when you find someone I match, give me another $50 to take some marrow. A whole "middle man" scenario will spring up. And yes I have been tested/cataloged and am in the data bank as a marrow donor. And in NY all one has to do is sign the back of the drivers license to become an organ donor. As someone who rides a motorcycle I have signed (signed before I rode a motorcycle) and figure it's only a matter of time. Just hope there is enough of me left to harvest.

While I do agree with @meric@an wom@n in the notion, "my body, my choice" selling pieces of ones body just rubs me wrong.