Body parts/commodities are already being sold

Great Debates
1

In Virginia, blood donors get paid $130.00. Some places have Plasma donor centers, they pay.

Also aren’t sperm and ova paid for?

This being national donor (sucker) awareness week, I made out my Will to specificy my body parts are not to be donated, but if my brother gets an offer in six figures to consider selling.

My family is against organ giving anyway, but if one of them ever gets weak in the head and starts thinking of being ‘good willed’ I will refuse to honour any such notion.

Let these people who wail about organ shortages start paying.

Pennsylvania is thinking of paying the donor’s family $300.00 and telling them what they may or may not spend it on.

Heck with that.

Want my organs? If they are in good condition be willing to pony up $100,000.00 for a kidney and lots more for the heart.

lindsay

2

Not to do Manhattan/Nickerz’s job but… what’s your question? Sounds more like a GD to me.

“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”

3

I hope that my vital organs can give life to as many needy people as possible, should I suddenly fall into a situation where I no longer need them. I even include you in that statement, lindsay, though it’s clear that you wouldn’t do the same for me.

Parts of me that I don’t give up will just end up as plant food anyway, so I figure why not put them to good use.

4

At the risk of getting kicked to GD, let me ask you a question.

What do you care?

Are you going to miss them when they’re gone? I seriously doubt it. No matter what your views on the afterlife are, I don’t see how organ donation could affect it. There are people suffering who could be greatly helped; lives could be saved because of your actions. And, get this, these actions involve absolutely no effort on your part! I don’t see how you could object to that.

Blessed are the Fundamentalists, for they shall inhibit the earth.
*

5

Breckinshire, Your body and what is done to it is an incredibly personal thing based on life experiences, religion, upbringing, and God only knows what else. I would guess that your or my feelings would depend on and change with age alone, what seems right and simple at 12, 16, 18, 24, 39, has to change.

I don’t know how of if I ever could shake off the anger I’d feel with Lindsay’s experience.

Are you driving with your eyes open or are you using The Force? - A. Foley

6

You say that you will refuse to honor, “weak in the head,” notions such as organ donation, does this include your spouse or any adult children. I understand your refusal to allow the harvesting of organs of children that may wish to have their organs donated if they are younger than 11. From 11-18 I think that you should at least consider their request. At 18 I do not think that famalies should even have a say in organ donation if somebody has legally requested their organs be donated.

P.S. You may think it is fair that people be payed for their organs, but nobody in the entire process gets any money for this, really.

You know, doing what is right is easy. The problem is knowing what is right.

–Lyndon B. Johnson

7

Kicked to GD? What is GD?

People’s suffering could be helped, lives could be saved because of my activities? What is your point?

Actually I was a blood and platelet donor for almost seven years, then a little incident showed me how wrong I was to even think of other people.

The day after I donated blood, I made an appointment to donate platelets. These as you might know are used to treat burn victims, cancer and leukemia patients and transplant receipents.

Well, lo and behold, I walked to a grocery store and bought a 12 pack of soda. While walking home my chest started seriously hurting.

Then I saw a grocery cart someone had left on the city sidewalk. Manna from heaven. I used it to get my groceries home, and left it on the sidewalk where I had found it.

This young Oaf came running after me, shouting that I was a disgrace to the neighborhood, he knew my landlord (not likely) he was going to report me to the FBI, on and on. He tried to follow me to my front door.

Finally I went into my garage to get away. He stood outside and shouted after me.

Well, that young man did me a big favour.

I realised how stupid I had been to donate blood. My donation could have saved his life, and he didn’t deserve to live, IMHO.

I called the Blood Bank the next day, and told them to take me off their donor list. They asked why and I told them. The guy said he would have done the same - using the cart.

However, that incident just reminded me that no good deed goes unpunished.

There is no way I ever want to contribute to people like that creep’s benefit.

There have been other negative things happen when I’ve donated blood and platelets, so I have concluded it is best to avoid such ‘good deeds’. As my uncle said, it will always come back and bite you.

lindsay

8

I don’t think I’d call blood a body part, though, admittedly, I wouldn’t get far without it coursing through me at a fairly even pace.

I’m listed as an organ donor, and yet my husband has said he won’t donate them if I die before him. I’ve threatened to come back and haunt him, if he does that, but apparently * that * doesn’t scare him, or else, he trusts with my messed up sense of direction, I’d never find him anyway.

They aren’t going to do me any good, and I think it’s rotten that a family member’s say is taken more seriously than the wishes of the one who wanted to do something good for those in need that are still alive.

  • What was the question? *

‘Mr. Shields had challenged Mr. Lincoln to a duel, and that, as the challenged party, it was Mr. Lincoln’s right to choose the weapons.
Mr. Lincoln responded, “How about cow-dung at five paces?”’

9

GQ is 'General * questions *
GD is ‘Great Debates’ where your outlook would be discussed, and of course, debated.

I’m sorry that you had a run in with that guy over the grocery cart, or had other incidents that made you doubt people are worth anyone’s extra efforts.

But, you sound really angry, and maybe talking it out over in GD would be of help.

10

Actually, you just made it.

Okay, so you hate the human race, and don’t wish to see it furthered anymore than you can help. Fine. But what about your own life? Is that important? Wouldn’t you want someone to donate an organ that you might (god forbid) need someday? Or what about a family member or really close friend? Would you want to see them die for lack of an organ?

Blessed are the Fundamentalists, for they shall inhibit the earth.
*

11

Now, Opus, I didn’t say I wouldn’t help you. I just want my family to benefit financially.

Beg pardon if the topic didn’t make sense, I thought I was replying to another post. I swear I will start drinking sometime soon, that should clear my head.

Seeing as how I was a blood/platelet and potential marrow donor all these years I consider that I’ve helped at least some others.

What I was thinking of was a letter I read, wherein the author says that the Main Player, the Donor, is the one without whom no life gets saved, with a transplant new life is given, physicians and hospitals get fat fees, but the most essential person gets nothing.

He was referring to Donna Shalala’s attempt to take over this monopoly on commodities/organs. He also states that thousands die each year because potential donors are not motivated to give organs to strangers or to abstract organisations. He suggests paying donors as a way to make more organs available.

I think it is worth considering.

Consider this, a unit of my donated blood sells for $79.00 to the hospital, it costs the patient $200.00 plus to get my free blood.

A unit of platelets sells for $444.00. The donor gets a glass of fruit juice and a cookie.

Stem cells sell for over $1,200.00.

Blood donors are making a multimillion dollar business viable and reaping none of the profits.

I could sell the plasma for $100.00.

Just think it is time to spread the wealth.

lindsay

12

Hate the human race? NO, not at all. There are a few people I wouldn’t miss, but I don’t hate anyone.

It was just my opinion that as potential donors, we deserve some monetary rewards. After all without the donors, the game is over.

I am thinking like a capitalist or a mercenary. A commodity is on the market, make your best offer.

I’ve also been told that I am or was a fool to donate my blood for free.

Of course my body won’t matter to me after I am dead - as far as I know - but I’d certainly be pleased if my family got a hugh chunk of change in exchange for body parts.

Who knows, if enough people start getting paid, there might one day be so many organs the price would fall through the floor.

lindsay

13

After spending a few minutes reading over our exchange, I realized I may have been overly harsh. If I have offended you, I apologize. I hope you understand that I was only attempting to engage you in a debate, not to deride your personal convictions.

And back to our regularly scheduled
program…

14

Jois:

You are so right about my being angry. Those sleepy blue eyes were the most loving communicative eyes I’ve ever seen. His family believed in keeping the body whole.

As the wife I thought I had the right to say what would and would not be done with his body.

The dreams were bad enough without addding this horror to it.

Can you imagine someone’s dying in a car crash, and only part of the body’s being returned to the family for burial?

I think a person should be at least 25 before being allowed to be a living donor. You also have to consider that there can always be a reversal of health, and then you might need the organ you gave away.

There aren’t many options left to one, if that happens.

lindsay

15

For me, I have problems with selling body parts for cash. I’d rather not have some guy look at me as being a potential for cash. A little “accident” and voila! instant cash. Also, what you are proposing will only increase cost in an already expensive health care system.

Also, what happens in times of disaster? Down here in Texas when the bonfire stack collapsed, it created an instant bloood shortage. They had to set up emergency blood donation centers (they had no shortage of donors. Eventually had to start turning people away). If you don’t have ready cash, what do you do? Promise the people IOU’s? What if it’s not in your budget for the year. The money crunchers had estimated that only 1000 units of blood would be needed and hadn’t figured on a diaster.

As for the motivtion, I have some friends that donate blood, but not plasma. That’s because they feel to be paid is a form of “prostitution”.

16

I have no answers for your questions.

Those are not something I know enough about to address.

My goal is to get my family some cashola for body parts.

If people want to donate blood and keep a business going without receiving compensation, fine with me.

Getting paid for a commodity - in this case body parts - is my goal. From what I’ve been told by others they wouldn’t consider donating an organ for any reason.

Heck, when a lady I dearly love needed surgery I donated a unit of my blood for her. She later told me that was not practical and to never give anything away for free.

lindsay

17

How about this - some labs will pay up to $300.00 for a unit of blood from a person with HIV. If the person sells the blood, which is used for research, what is wrong with that?

I know a fella who got paid $75.00 by physicians just to examine how a scar looked.
If this is prostitution, I am all for it.

I live by the Golden Rule, he who has the gold makes the rules.

lindsay

18

One reason to be leery of organ sales is that where quality is not easily observable, donors may supply better product than sellers.

The argument in the case of blood is this: suppose my risk factors for hepatitis are not directly observable and that current testing procedures suffer from a “window period” (because for example it it takes time to build up antibodies which the test uses to detect the virus) or that there is no test available.

In this case, asking questions about risky behaviour is an effective way of screening for quality. The argument goes that those who are prepared to give are more likely to tell the truth about their behaviour than those who want payment, who may be prepared to lie or at least leave the job of screening to the market.

If this were the case, disallowing sales could be rationalised on the basis that it raises the quality of the blood supply.

Before anyone gets too excited, whilst I endorse this view as part of the story, I am happy to acknowledge that:
testing plays an important role in screening as well;
not all donors’ motivations are pure;
not all sellers’ motivations are wholly base;
doctors may well gain, either in power or finacially by insisting the price of this input into medical services is zero (note that blood is nonetheless costly to process, so the mere fact that it is charged for doesn’t mean that donors are suckers).

To the extent that organs suffer from unobservable qualitites, these arguments apply to them, particularly for organs which can be removed whilst you are alive.

The other problem of course is that of removing organs without consent. This is liable to be a problem whether or not you allow sales, but in countries with poor human rights records, you might worry if you could make a buck from killing people and selling their organs. China’s execution practices are a worry here.

Soon we’ll just get our organs from transgenic pigs, since they never say no. On the other hand, viruses have been knowm to cross species…

19

I hope you aren’t under the misimpression that bodies are buried with the organs in them.

20

The medical profession and society as a whole have generally opposed the idea of paying for body parts, and certainly have opposed the idea of paying large amounts.

Blood donors used to get paid. As a consequence, winos and addicts tended to donate blood (sometimes too often) to get the quick cash; such blood is often unusable.

The scenario that we want to avoid is where it is to a family’s financial advantage to declare a relative dead to reap cash benefits from the organ donation. If you’re talking a few hundred dollars for a heart, OK, maybe. But you mentioned $100,000 as a rough figure. How many murders have been committed for a helluva lot less?

No, thanks, I don’t want decisions about whether to continue or drop life support for me to depend on how much my cousins might get in cash.