An ethically defensible market in organs

doi:10.1136/bmj.325.7356.114

BMJ 2002;325:114-115 ( 20 July )

Editorials

An ethically defensible market in organs

A single buyer like the NHS is an answer

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The American Medical Association has just voted to encourage studies that would determine whether financial incentives wouldincrease the pool of donor organs from cadavers.¹ The associationis only eight years behind a proposal that we made, outliningprobably the only circumstances in which a market in donor organscould be achieved ethically and in a way that minimised the dangersof such a scheme. This is how an ethical market in live organswouldwork.

To meet legitimate ethical and regulatory concerns any such scheme must have built into it safeguards against wrongful exploitationand show concern for vulnerable people, as well as taking intoaccount considerations of justice and equity. If all this canbe done then a market in human body products will be shown tobe, at the very least, not prima facie unethical.²

One way of attending to this need for prudent regulation would be . . . [Full text of this article]

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Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Tongue in cheek ?: Rachel Abela
bmj.com, 20 Jul 2002 [Full text]
An ethically defensible market in organs? It depends...: Stephen Jan, et al.
bmj.com, 23 Jul 2002 [Full text]
Ideational agnosia: NANCY K OCONNOR
bmj.com, 25 Jul 2002 [Full text]
A market place for organs is not a realistic solution: Fran�ois Mosimann
bmj.com, 25 Jul 2002 [Full text]
Defending the indefensible?: Stephen J Wigmore, et al.
bmj.com, 26 Jul 2002 [Full text]
Commodification of body parts: Agneta M Sutton
bmj.com, 26 Jul 2002 [Full text]
An ethical monopoly. Really?: Raj Mohindra
bmj.com, 30 Jul 2002 [Full text]
Ethics, commerce and organs: Jeremy P Wight
bmj.com, 6 Aug 2002 [Full text]
Ethically defensible? Some counter-thoughts.: Cathleen E Schulte
bmj.com, 7 Aug 2002 [Full text]
Market of organs: unethical under any circumstances: Ignazio R. Marino, et al.
bmj.com, 23 Aug 2002 [Full text]