Markets in Human Organs for Transplantation: Controversy and Contention (Routledge Annals of Bioethics)

This volume presents a comprehensive examination of one of bioethics’ most divisive debates: whether human organs should be bought and sold. It brings together diverse philosophical perspectives from leading scholars who explore the moral, political, and practical dimensions of organ markets.

The volume addresses critical questions at the intersection of medicine, ethics, and economics:

• Would financial incentives for organ donation save lives or exploit the vulnerable?
• Can organ markets be ethically regulated to prevent abuse?
• How do principles of distributive justice apply to organ allocation?
• Should bodily autonomy extend to selling one’s organs?

Contributors include both proponents who argue that properly regulated markets would increase organ supply and reduce suffering, and opponents who contend that commodification of organs violates human dignity and risks exploitation. The collection examines utilitarian, libertarian, and communitarian approaches while considering real-world policy implications. It also offers nuanced analysis of paternalistic prohibitions, feasibility concerns, and alternative procurement systems. By presenting multiple viewpoints in dialogue, the volume provides readers with the intellectual tools to form their own informed positions on this controversial issue.

Markets in Human Organs for Transplantation is an ideal resource for researchers, students, and healthcare professionals interested in the ethical dimensions of transplant medicine.

Chapter 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

James Stacey Taylor is Professor of Philosophy at The College of New Jersey, USA. He is the author of Bloody Bioethics: Why Prohibiting Plasma Compensation Harms Patients and Wrongs Donors (2022), Death, Posthumous Harm, and Bioethics (2012), Practical Autonomy and Bioethics (2009), Stakes and Kidneys: Why Markets in Human Body Parts are Morally Imperative (2005/2017), and Markets with Limits (2022). He is the editor of The Metaphysics and Ethics of Death: New Essays (2013), and Personal Autonomy: New Essays on Personal Autonomy and Its Role in Contemporary Moral Philosophy (2005).

Mark J. Cherry is the Dr. Patricia A. Hayes Professor in Applied Ethics and Professor of Philosophy, St. Edwards University, USA. He is Editor of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, Senior Editor of Christian Bioethics, and Editor-in-Chief of HealthCare Ethics Committee (HEC) Forum. He is the author of Kidney for Sale by Owner: Human Organs, Transplantation, and the Market (2005/2015), Sex, Family and the Culture Wars (2016), and Bioethics After God: Morality, Culture, and Medicine (2024).