An Ethical Analysis of an Organ Market: In Defense of Buying and Selling Kidneys

Abstract

The lack of kidneys available for transplantation results in thousands of deaths every year. A regulated market for kidneys from living suppliers might solve this problem. Yet such a market is widely opposed based on the argument that it necessarily entails immoral acts. This thesis examines this argument by evaluating the necessary acts involved in a regulated living kidney market using four ethical frameworks ? namely, utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, virtue ethics, and principlism. I conclude that the argument is unfounded. The objections against an organ market are either ineffective, misinterpreting the regulated organ market or the demands of the ethical frameworks, or overly broad, condemning every type of organ transplantation. Furthermore, I argue that the prohibition of a regulated living kidney market is unjustified within these frameworks. Finally, I discuss the practical aspects of the question arguing for a basic regulation and analyzing the problems in the existing guidelines.