FRIDAY LEGAL UPDATE - The Donation of Gametes and the Donation of Kidneys - Where Do We Draw the Line?
After reading an interesting commentary posted on MSNBC involving a gentleman that claims to have sold his kidney for $20,000.00 to another man in New York who had no chance of living without it, I started thinking about how this story may or may not be used against egg and sperm donation solely on the basis of compensation (this is not meant to address any issues regarding medical procedures, duress, the rights of donor conceived children, etc. in this post - we will address that at another time).
It appears that this gentleman and the New York man concocted a story to cover what was truly happening so that the doctors would proceed with the donation. In fact, they claimed to be cousins and an intermediary was used.
Now, the paying for the donation of organs has been outlawed in the US for quite some time, while the UK has just set in place a new law banning of private organ transplants from dead donors to allay fears that prospective recipients can buy their way to the front of the line.
They even submitted a government-commissioned report that recommended that organs donated within the state-run National Health Service should stay within the public health system, even though very few Britons have private transplants. In fact, the new rules will mainly stop overseas patients from coming to Britain and paying privately for a transplant.
On the other hand, gamete donation for compensation has also been banned in several countries, such as Canada, for quite some time, but where do we draw line between what we can be compensated for and what not? What about participating in a research program for a new drug or therapy?
Now, let’s get back to this gentleman from Israel, who believes that he has done something great and earned money along the way. And, he does have two kidneys, doesn’t he? (Personally, I would like to keep both of mine as a back-up, but that is just me.) Does he have the right to sell something that he can function without?
I did submit my vote in an online poll (I will not divulge my answer), and this is the current standing as of now:
1. Yes, absolutely. It's dangerous and unfair to go outside the approved system for organ donation – 20.3%.
2. No. I think people who need an organ should be able to pursue all options – 70.8%.
3. I don't know. It's a complex topic – 8.9%.
This topic, although dealing with organs versus gametes and the process in which they are obtained, is certainly going to continue to be debated; however, I want to know what you think? Where do we draw the law on what can be compensated for and what cannot be compensated for? And, why do we care? I do not have the answer; I am just asking the questions. Let me know what you think?
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