Lots of people probably consider organ donation but feel a little weird about it or never get around to signing the card. .
One objection might be that with organs for sale, only the wealthy could obtain the organs. To that I have two responses. First of all, health care in this country is already too expensive, leaving the poor unable to receive adequate treatment. This would not change a thing. Reform of our pitiful health care system is important, but it is a separate issue. Second, have a little faith in the market system. With the incentive to leave money for their families, many more thousands of people would take the time to arrange for organ sale after death. With this increased supply, the price would fall. More importantly, the increased supply would save thousands of lives.
One could ask "Won't organ selling draw down-and-outs with lower quality organs?" The market will reduce the price for their organs, testing will weed out unacceptable risks, and the risks will outweigh the lives saved anyway. "What about the risk that some people will be coerced or will act impulsively?" Careful screening and having a required waiting period can be mandated. "Aren't people who sell their organs out of desperate financial need acting involuntarily?" No more so than when they stoop to cleaning bathrooms for minimum wage. If exploiting the poor is such a concern, then require a minimum income for anyone who sells their organs.
Presently, many countries have laws in place flatly prohibiting the purchase or sale of body parts. U.S. law has tended to divide body parts into categories. Payment for non-regenerative or nonrenewable tissues used in transplantation, such as hearts and kidneys, has been prohibited. However, payment for renewable tissues such as blood, hair and semen has been permitted. The National Organ Transplant Act, which applies to any transaction that affects interstate commerce, prohibits payment for solid organs.
