Description
Book SynopsisIf most Americans accept the notion that the market is the most efficient means to distribute resources, why should body parts be excluded? Each year thousands of people die waiting for organ transplants. Many of these deaths could have been prevented were it not for the almost universal moral hand-wringing over the concept of selling human organs. Kidney for Sale by Owner, now with a new preface, boldly deconstructs the roadblocks that are standing in the way of restoring health to thousands of people. Author and bioethicist Mark Cherry reasserts the case that health care could be improved and lives saved by introducing a regulated transplant organs market rather than by well-meant, but misguided, prohibitions.
Trade ReviewKidney for Sale by Owner is a remarkable book-insightful, scholarly, and beautifully argued. American Journal of Bioethics Kidney for Sale by Owner is a tour de force, demonstrating both philosophical acumen, insight and scholarly care. This is how bioethics should be done! Moreover-and more soberly-given the number of people who die while waiting for a transplant, and the greater number who suffer while waiting, Kidney for Sale by Owner is long overdue. With luck it will be read not just by philosophers, but also by medical professionals and the framers of public policy. Economic Affairs A comprehensive, balanced review of the philosophical and practical aspects of adopting a market-driven system for organ sales. Transplantation professionals, bioethicists, and the public will find Kidney for Sale by Owner invaluable for framing discussions of this complicated topic... This book challenges our current views on the commercialism of organ donation and argues that from an ethical, medical, and societal viewpoint, the current prohibition of organ sales may cause more harm than good. New England Journal of Medicine Accessible and would be of interest to the casual reader, while retaining sufficient analytical depth to be relevant to the ethical or transplant professional. British Medical Journal
Table of ContentsPreface to the Paperback Edition Introduction1. Human Organ Sales and Moral Arguments: The Body for Beneficence and Profit IntroductionChallenges for Public Health Care Policy"Global Consensus"Prohibition: Controversies and Criticisms 2. Metaphysics, Morality, and Political Theory: The Presuppositions of Proscription Reexamined Introduction Initial Considerations: Assessing Standards of Evidence and Placing the Burden of Proof Persons and Body Parts Owning One's Body Repugnance: Adjudication Among Moral Institutions Government, Health Care Policy, and Private Choices Summary 3. A Market in Human Organs: Costs and Benefits, Vices and Virtues Introduction Health Care Costs and Benefits Special Moral Costs and Benefits: Equality and Liberty Exploitation: Organ Markets Verses Other Procurement and Allocation Strategies Community, Altruism, and Free Choice Scientific Excellence and the Market Place The Market and Profit: The Virtues and Vices of Free Choice Summary 4. The Body, Its Parts, and the Market: Revisionist Interpretations From the History of Philosophy Introduction Major Theories Summary 5. Prohibition: More Harm than Benefit? Aspiring to an International Bioethics False Claims to Moral Consensus Crafting Health Care Policy Amidst Moral Pluralism Appendix: Sample of International Legislation Restricting the Sale of Human Organs for Transplantation List of Cases Notes Index
