Would you consider or be prepared to sell one of your kidney's to a compatible recipient for $300,000?

Question

In considering your answer to this question could you please tell me if your answer is no, then why not, or would you ask for more money, if so what would be your price. This is part of a serious study for an my idea to have a world live compatible kidney register that will benifit all people [rich or poor] in need of a kidney transplant.

Answer 1

Sure 300k for a kidney, sounds fair if you ask me.

Answer 2

That is really interesting.

Off the top of my head, I have to think that I WOULD do this if someone really needed it AND I was getting $300,000. I would need more information, however, as I really do not know what all is involved. I understand that people can live without one of their kidneys, but short of that I am ignorant on the subject. I do not know what life with one kidney is like. I do not know what the surgery is like. How safe is it? Who would be paying for it? Etc. Etc. So I really am not in the position to accurately answer this question, though I think it is intriguing.

Plus, I would have to get my family's permission. Who knows how they would react to the idea?

Your idea of a kidney register is intriguing as well, but it opens up a big question: who would be paying the $300,000? Where would the money come from? That is the big obstacle I see in this idea, though if we really were an unselfish society, the money would not matter.

Answer 3

Absolutely no. I would give (not sell) one of my kidneys to a relative or a friend but I would not put them in the market for money. If something goes wrong with the remaining kidney, the consequences are dire. I would take the risk for love but not for money.

Also, I would not do it because I do not want to support the traffic; as usual, only the weaker and most desperate people would pay the consequences. And it would be a matter of time to have a "middle man" fooling the system, paying peanuts in poor countries and getting the share of the lion (as it is happening now).

I am an organ donor, so when I go visit greener pastures, both will be up for grabs.

Cheers,

Answer 4

No, I would not sell any organ for any amount of money. Organ donation should be free, otherwise market price will determine who gets an organ and who doesn't. The person willing to part with the largest amount of money will recieve one, and the great majority of people without sufficient funds will not. What there really should be is a sense of responsibility among people so that no one went to their grave with all their donatable organs intact. If the organs which could be donated were actually donated, there would be no waiting lists anywhere and those who needed transplants could recieve them. I find the idea of turning organs into cash crops repulsive and immoral. You got yours for free to begin with. How could you live with yourself, if after you sold a kidney for profit, to discover that a family member whom you would have matched now needs one? And what would you do if the only kidneys available on the market were out of your financial reach?
The idea of keeping organ donation off the financial market is to ensure that compatibility and need remain the primary considerations in transplants. Although the system is not perfect, I'd hate to think of the consequences of depending on a system where organs could be bought, sold and advertised. As ugly as it is to consider, there are places where people are kidnapped specifically to harvest a kidney, and people so desparately poor they will sell them. And who buys them? The rich. That scenario would only get worse if organs were purchase items.
If you really wanted to do something to help, you would do better to address the problems that lead people to require a kidney transplant in the first place. Diabetes is not only the leading cause for the necessity of a transplant, it is one of the most rapidly growing disorders out there. In most cases, adult onset diabetes is probably avoidable. And the complications which lead to dialysis and the need for a transplant are also often avoidable. But people either don't know enough to do it, or they just don't do what is needed.
In a perfect world, there would be kidneys available for all who required them. I know the current system is not perfect, but I am not convinced having organs for sale is the answer. It used to be selling oneself refered only to prostitution, or one's conscience- not the very parts of one's body. I'm not so certain the term would not apply to those who sold a kidney to the highest bidder, either. But what I really fear is that what you propose would only be a new way for the very rich to take advantage of the very poor. I'd rather see the kidneys go to the grave than see one poor parent sell a kidney to feed his children, just so the rich man could go back to his old habits with a new kidney to abuse.

Answer 5

I would consider it, but I would have to learn more about the risks of the surgery involved (or future risks). Is that legal now? (Selling your organs, I mean.) I think it should be. I'm not sure I would be able to donate an organ now, for medical reasons--I'd be interested in what the guidelines are for being on various meds while being a donor, being at various weights, etc. There's not a good source of info out there for things like that it seems--I can't even figure out whether I'm eligible to donate blood.

Answer 6

I would consider it. I would have to talk to my family though first. I would be more apt to donate for free though if I felt that the person getting it had more to live for than me. Or if it was going to a child, then I would give for no cost. Again though, I would have to discuss that with my own family first. All of organs and tissues will be donated when I die anyway. Good luck with your study.

Answer 7

I don't think you can survive without both of your kidneys......but if I could without dying or pain, I'd give it to someone for free who needed it because I enjoy helping people

Answer 8

I think the going (blackmarket) rate right now is around 50-100k..

I only need one.. why not?