Should People Be Allowed to Sell Body Parts?

by Wilf Brown

Image by Olenka Kotyk

Thousands of people across the world are currently waiting for organ transplants. Organ transplants can save people’s lives or  at the very least make people feel much better, but sadly there aren’t enough organs to meet every patient’s requirement. In the UK, people can donate their organs and body parts, such as their heart and lungs, after they die by putting their name on the NHS register. Living people can already give, not sell, a kidney or part of their liver, as well as bone marrow. Some people, however, believe that the number of available human organs could be increased if people were allowed to sell body parts that they can manage without. Perhaps letting people sell their own organs would solve the shortage of organs needed for life-changing transplants. Which presents the question: Should people be allowed to sell body parts? 

Yes - People should be properly rewarded

If people can donate parts of their bodies without harming their health and probably their well-being, why shouldn't they be allowed to have the decision of selling organs or body parts? They after all belong to a person and like other possessions it is up to that person as an individual to choose if they want to sell such items to other people. According to doctors, healthy people donating one of their two kidneys should not harm their health or affect how long they live. It could boost the number of organs available for transplant and save lives. It would also allow donors to be paid and rewarded for it. The current system of waiting for donated life-saving organs isn’t enough, and patients shouldn’t suffer if it can be easily avoided. If someone is willing and able to sell part of their body to help others, and there is a safe, proper system in place to do so, then they should be allowed to. 

No - selling parts of your body is wrong

Encouraging people to put a price on valuable body parts is wrong. Most people would only put their health and life at risk if they were desperate for money, which means poor people are more likely to sell their organs and rich people are more likely to be able to afford them. This makes good health something that can be bought and sold, which is unfair to the less fortunate. What’s more, scientists are making astonishing discoveries in organ transplants all the time, including experimenting with lab-grown kidneys and animal organ transplantations. Recently a man in the US had a heart transplant and received a pig’s heart. We should focus our efforts on scientific research instead of creating a market for body parts, which could be more difficult to check or control. 

Understandably this is a very contentious topic for many, with people having strong feelings for each side of the debate either based on personal experiences or a fear of exploitation of the poor and vulnerable. Personally, I would prefer to focus our attention on the scientific research in finding alternative lab-grown organs as I fear that the sale of organs could be very dangerous for society. What do you think?