Markets For Human Tissue: Why They Should (Not) Be Encouraged?

Markets For Human Tissue: Why They Should (Not) Be Encouraged
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Abstract
Demand for available human tissues and organs for transplantation in the United States and other countries around the world far outpaces the supply. The consequence in this scenario can be observed through the ever-increasing numbers of people on the waiting list yet to receive an organ or tissue transplant and the rising mortality rates due to lack of organs and tissues that could save lives. Unfortunately, inefficient policies have made it difficult for the transplant community to forge ways in dealing with the problem of scarcity in donations. Many donations are currently made through altruistic acts but have not been sufficient to meet the rising needs. An alternative to establishing the market for human tissues and organs would be appropriate to increase the supply in the market. This move will be effective if the government supports efforts to reduce the current crisis that has resulted in people lacking essential materials that could save lives. Therefore, this paper supports the market for human tissues and organs to solidify the act of altruism, end the scarce supply of human tissues and organs, determine the market price for harvested organs, provide a base for policy support and implementation, deal with cartels and unscrupulous dealers, and drive down the cost of transplant surgery.
Markets For Human Tissue: Why They Should (Not) Be Encouraged
Introduction
While the era of free-market sparked elevated enthusiasm in doing business, there still exist growing controversies over limits of the free enterprise systems on the legality and ethical principles defining what should be sold and what needs to be kept away from the market domain. For instance, the market for human tissues and organs has been clouded with challenges demanding economic, legal, and ethical discussions with different scholars supporting or opposing the enterprise. Deck and Kimbrough (2013) have investigated the issue of market incentives in the business of organ donations from either the living or deceased persons and argue in support of the enterprise that markets serve to increase the supply of human tissue, making them available to those in desperate need. This argument has widely been supported as a way of providing a possible solution to the chronic shortage of human tissues for transplantation. However, other critics have regarded the idea as abhorrent arguing that such a practice is unethical and needs to be discouraged and banned (Wilkinson, 2015). The primary argument provided by critics of the sale of human tissues and organs is the possibility that humans could be commodified where each individual is valued based on their physical components or monetary worth. Other reasons against markets for human tissue include the cartels who may take advantage to make profits out of human body parts and the fading of the gratuitous and discouraging the acts of altruism of transferring health-enhancing or life-saving materials (Mahoney, 2009). Drawing from economic principles as well as ethical and legal arguments on the subject, this paper explores the issue of the human tissue market and provides the case in favor of the enterprise such a...