Response: "Organs For Sale?" by Joe Boehrer

     This post is in response to Joe's post, which discusses the ethical controversy associated with legalizing organ sales in the United States and presents his thoughts on the matter.  Joe states his opinion early, saying, that one's organs are one's personal property and that people sell a myriad of other goods and services ranging from hair to sex.  He makes the point that one deserves compensation for the organs one has taken care of (if they have done so) and that, unlike organ donation, organ sales are made by a conscious human being.  He says that he supports the organ donation system in place, but believes that legalizing organ sales would ameliorate the shortage of organs available for transplants by greatly increasing supply.  Next, he makes the point that the poor would most likely be forced into unfair compensation, but says that the health care system is already plagued by this problem.  He ends by saying that he finds no problem in legalizing organ sales, although he thinks that organ donations from the deceased should continue to be free.  He references this article, which presents the advantages of legalizing organ sales.

     First of all, let me say that I do agree with Joe's standpoint that organ sales should be legalized, but not wholeheartedly.  I found that overall Joe effectively presented both sides of the argument, but dismissed the issues of legalizing organ sales too easily.  Early in his post, when he writes that people sell stranger things, from hair to sex, he floats over the issue that many people find organ sales to be repulsive and unethical.  If organ sale were legalized, there might be a very small pool of vendors, meaning that the organ supply problem would not be drastically improved.  Skirting over the objections to organ sale by saying that prostitution is worse does not remove the controversy any more than citing the death count of World War II would make the situation in Afghanistan seem pleasant.  Likewise, his dismissal of the potential problem of unfair compensation for the poor by saying that the health care system is already plagued by this problem does not effectively erase the issue.  At the end of his post, he states that organ donation from the deceased should continue to be free, but doesn't state why.  If organ sales are legalized, the families of the deceased will most likely look for compensation for the organs donated.

     Overall, I agree with Joe's view that organ sales should be legalized, but I would not be so quick to dismiss the issues that will ensue.  Joe, your article was credible and I thought you represented both sides effectively, if not fairly.  Here's the link to Joe's post.