MARKETING HUMAN ORGANS - THE AUTONOMY PARADOX

The severe shortage of organs for transplantation and the continual re luctance of the public to voluntarily donate has prompted consideratio n of alternative strategies for organ procurement. This paper explores the development of market approaches for procuring human organs for t ransplantation and considers the social and moral implications of orga n donation as both a ''gift of life'' and a ''commodity exchange.'' Th e problematic and paradoxical articulation of individual autonomy in r elation to property rights and marketing human body parts is addressed . We argue that beliefs about proprietorship over human body parts and the capacity to provide consent for organ donation are culturally con structed. We contend that the political and economic framework of biom edicine, in western and non-western nations, influences access to tran splantation technology and shapes the form and development of specific market approaches. Finally, we suggest that marketing approaches for organ procurement are and will be negotiated within cultural parameter s constrained by several factors: beliefs about the physical body and personhood, religious traditions, economic conditions, and the availab ility of technological resources.