Kidney for Sale by Owner
|
EXPLORE THIS TITLE DescriptionTable of Contents Reviews |
 274 pp., 6 x 9 Hardcover ISBN: 9781589010406 (158901040X) eBook ISBN: 9781589013551 March 2005 LC: 2004022932 |
Kidney for Sale by Owner
Human Organs, Transplantation, and the Market
Over the past decade in the United States, nearly 6,000 people a year have died waiting for organ transplants. In 2003 alone, only 20,000 out of the 83,000 waiting for transplants received them—in anyone's eyes, a tragedy. Many of these deaths could have been prevented, and many more lives saved, were it not for the almost universal moral hand-wringing over the concept of selling human organs. Bioethicist Mark Cherry explores the why of these well-intentioned misperceptions and legislation and boldly deconstructs the roadblocks that are standing in the way of restoring health to thousands of people. If most Americans accept the notion that the market is the most efficient means to distribute resources, why should body parts be excluded? Mark J. Cherry is associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at Saint Edward's University in Austin, Texas; and is coeditor with H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr., of Allocating Scarce Medical Resources, senior associate editor of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, senior associate editor of Christian Bioethics, and editor-in-chief of HealthCare Ethics Committee Forum (HEC Forum).
Reviews
"Kidney for Sale by Owner is a remarkable book—insightful, scholarly, and beautifully argued."—American Journal of Bioethics "Kidney for Sale by Owner is a tour de force, demonstrating both philosophical acumen, insight and scholarly care. This is how bioethics should be done! Moreover—and more soberly—given the number of people who die while waiting for a transplant, and the greater number who suffer while waiting, Kidney for Sale by Owner is long overdue. With luck it will be read not just by philosophers, but also by medical professionals and the framers of public policy."—Economic Affairs "A comprehensive, balanced review of the philosophical and practical aspects of adopting a market-driven system for organ sales. Transplantation professionals, bioethicists, and the public will find Kidney for Sale by Owner invaluable for framing discussions of this complicated topic. . . . This book challenges our current views on the commercialism of organ donation and argues that from an ethical, medical, and societal viewpoint, the current prohibition of organ sales may cause more harm than good."—New England Journal of Medicine "Accessible and would be of interest to the casual reader, while retaining sufficient analytical depth to be relevant to the ethical or transplant professional."—British Medical Journal "Mark Cherry has authored an important, intellectually challenging book. Not only does Cherry address important questions about the sale of organs, but he also raises thought provoking, important moral questions about how we understand the body and moral authority in a secular society. The book raises important questions for transplantation ethics, bioethics, and political ethics."—Kevin Wm. Wildes, SJ, president, Loyola University New Orleans "Kidney for Sale by Owner is extremely important, especially at a time when the demand for organs is ever-increasing and the supply is not. Cherry addresses important issues in social and political philosophy, health care economics, public policy, and social justice. Policymakers and health care professionals involved in designing policy or position statements for professional organizations should look to this carefully argued and level-headed analysis of the arguments for and against the permissibility of selling organs."—Ana Iltis, assistant professor, Center for Health Care Ethics, Saint Louis University, and author of Institutional Integrity in Health Care "Mark Cherry's book is the definitive treatment of the bioethical and business ethics questions that have been raised about a market in organs. It is must reading for anyone interested in these issues, and it will be the basis for all future discussion of this topic."—Nicholas Capaldi, Legendre-Soule Distinguished Chair in Business Ethics, Loyola University New Orleans Table of Contents Introduction Chapter One: Human Organ Sales and Moral Arguments: The Body for Beneficence and Profit Introduction Challenges for Public Health Care Policy "Global Consensus" Prohibition: Controversies and Criticisms Chapter Two: Metaphysics, Morality, and Political Theory: The Presuppositions of Proscription Reexamined Introduction Initial Considerations: Assessing Standards of Evidence and Placing the Burden of Proof Persons and Body Parts Owning One's Body Repugnance: Adjudication Among Moral Institutions Government, Health Care Policy, and Private Choices Summary Chapter Three: A Market in Human Organs: Costs and Benefits, Vices and Virtues Introduction Health Care Costs and Benefits Special Moral Costs and Benefits: Equality and Liberty Exploitation: Organ Markets Verses Other Procurement and Allocation Strategies Community, Altruism, and Free Choice Scientific Excellence and the Market Place The Market and Profit: The Virtues and Vices of Free Choice Summary Chapter Four: The Body, Its Parts, and the Market: Revisionist Interpretations From the History of Philosophy Introduction Major Theories Summary Chapter Five: Prohibition: More Harmful than Benefit? Aspiring to an International Bioethics False Claims to Moral Consensus Crafting Health Care Policy Amidst Moral Pluralism Appendix: Sample of International Legislation Restricting the Sale of Human Organs for Transplantation List of Cases Notes Index |
