Awards

• Commended for Core Titles 6 (United States)
• Commended for Core Titles.
• Nominated for Book Jacket and Journal Show Award 6 (United States)
• Winner of Core Title 6 (United States)
• Winner of Core Title.

Overview

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? Kidney for Sale by Owner contends that the market is indeed a legitimate - and humane - way to procure and distribute human organs. Cherry stakes the claim that it may be even more just, and more compatible with many Western religious and philosophical traditions, than the current charity-based system now in place. He carefully examines arguments against a market for body parts, including assertions based on the moral views of John Locke, Immanuel Kant, and Thomas Aquinas, and shows these claims to be steeped in myth, oversimplification, and contorted logic. Rather than focusing on purported human exploitation and the irrational ""moral repugnance"" of selling organs, Cherry argues that we should focus on saving lives. Following on the thinking of the philosopher Robert Nozick, he demonstrates that, with regard to body parts, the important core humanitarian values of equality, liberty, altruism, social solidarity, human dignity, and, ultimately, improved health care are more successfully supported by a regulated market rather than by well meant but misguided, prohibitions.

Full Product Details

9781589010406

Table of Contents

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

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

[A]n 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. - Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., 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; 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 topics. - Nicholas Capaldi, Legendre-Soule Distinguished Chair in Business Ethics, Loyola University New Orleans

Author Information

Mark J. Cherry is the Dr. Patricia A. Hayes Professor in Applied Ethics and professor of philosophy at St. Edward's University, Austin, Texas. He is editor of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, associate senior editor of Christian Bioethics, and editor-in-chief of HealthCare Ethics Committee Forum. He is coeditor of the book series The Annals of Bioethics and editor of the book series Philosophical Studies in Contemporary Culture.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available