A man was released from prison after paying his fines with the money he received from donating a kidney.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/...s-organ03.html
The story claims that he wasn't paid directly for the organ, but that kind people donated some money to him in a charitable way AFTER he had decided to donate the kidney.
I currently work a shitty job that pays little. I'm going to owe a lot in taxes at the end of the year because I'm paid as an independent contractor and not as a regular employee (so all my taxes are damn near double what I would normally pay). With lots of overtime, before taxes, I can make about $900 a week.
This guy got around $2,500 after donating his kidney. Even assuming he has a week or two of bed rest following the surgery, he still comes out ahead of me, and he doesn't have to put up with corporate work, he can CHILL AND WATCH TV for the two weeks. Plus, he gets really great painkillers for FREE! I have to drink lots and lots of liquor to get to that level of feel-goodedness.
My point is that I would so totally sell a kidney for $2,500. As it is, I won't donate one because I would have to take a week or two off of work and wind up evicted. I understand that nobody wants to create a market in body parts where the poor are denied access to transplants, but let us be honest:
You still need some heavy duty health insurance of some kind to cover these costs. The kind that comes with high paying jobs, not flipping burgers. The rich are already the ones getting the transplants. At least this way communities could rally together to save money and guarantee a kid gets a kidney.
If insurance companies pay for the transplants completely, then the only ones affected by the buying and selling of organs would be insurance companies, not individuals. True, the ins. companies might raise their rates, but for those of us without health insurance, it wouldn't affect us at all.
Poor people would have an additional source of income unrelated to education, race, or social status.
I have sold plasma in the past, and I've considered sperm (but I'd have to drive 200 miles out of the way to do it, so I don't think it's economically feasible). I've never been able to take advantage of the really expensive parts of my body. I mean, what good is that second kidney doing me? Do I really need all that marrow? Think of all the hookers and booze I could get with that money!