Fingers crossed that I get to write about this topic for Int'l Trade...

[bicentennial_baby]

The blackmarket trade in organs. Kidneys, specifically.

:D

C'mon, I need something interesting to write about. :P

But yeah, I just emailed my Prof about it. :rofl:

[Shakespeare]

1. Dude, you've been reading WAY too many urban legend chain emails.

:rofl:

Series, though, that does sound interesting!

[bicentennial_baby]

2. No, we actually watched a Nightline episode

in Health Econ last week about the trade of kidneys, specifically between Israeli patients and donators from poor Eastern European countries. :o

[otherlander]

3. Like, people selling their kidneys

because they need the money, even though the law says they can only be donated?

Or like Falun Gong members in China being disappeared and killed and having their organs sold on the black market?

[bicentennial_baby]

4. The former

Also, the other side is people who need kidneys who are either at/near the bottom of the recipient list but have the $$, or people who aren't even on the list but have the $$.

[otherlander]

7. Ah, that's somewhat less horrible.

I'm still convinced that the latter does happen, though.

[bicentennial_baby]

8. I'm sure that it does

My friend Dave, who's waiting for his 3rd kidney transplant, sometimes has a black humor about him and jokes about paying to get a Chinese prisoner's kidney, b/c it would be easier than it is legally in the US. Sigh.

The basic issue is supply and demand and rationing.

Excess demand, short supply. People die.

I'm not in any way convinced in a workable model fro an organ market, esp. internationally, but I am intrigued by Iran's domestic kidney donation-compensation scheme. Relatively low compensation, and they say it's reducing the exploitation aspect, I presume b/c supply is coming into equilibrium with demand, and prices are stable. An intersting topic, regardless.

Right now I'm reading an article titled "Repugnance as a Constraint on Markets"...Good stuff.

:)

[Gormy Cuss]

5. Holy Shit! To think that one could get academic credit for a National Enquirer story.

Seriously, it would be a pretty wild topic.:rofl:

[bicentennial_baby]

6. It's not fake!

Right now I'm reading a WHO bulletin titled: "The State of the International Organ Trade: a provisional picture based on the integration of available information."

The NE type of story is about stolen organs. This is about voluntary donation for compensation. Kidneys come from poor countries, given to people from rich countries, relatively speaking. Happening all the time. I'm interested in the creation of markets where none existed prior. It's one of my nerd obsessions.

:)