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In April 2011, 17 year old Wang Shangkunsold a kidney to buy an iPhone. When asked why he did this, the man said “Why do I need a second kidney? One is enough,”.
The man subsequently developed complications and now needs regular dialysis to survive. The complications may have been caused by a lack of post operative care. The doctors involved have been arrested.
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Teen Bedridden for Life after Selling Kidney for an iPhone
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(Score: 4, Insightful) by iamjacksusername on Sunday January 20 2019, @09:57PM
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool libertarian. I believe in personal and bodily autonomy. I believe that your body is your own, to do with as you please. However, the sale of organs is one place where I believe the notion of complete bodily autonomy breaks down. It is very simple: the demand for organs will always so outstrip the supply that the middlemen will always be the ones who profit. The organs will come from the most vulnerable of our society: young, poor, and desperate people who will trade a moment's relief for a lifetime of pain.
I do not think a market mechanism will be able to adequately regulate it; as soon as their is a legal outlet, institutions will spring into action to ensure a steady, low-cost supply of expandable people. The notion that there is an underclass who exists solely to supply the wealthy with replacement organs will be actively denied but tacitly accepted by society as the middle-class will also receive some benefit. Then, the practice will be institutionalized for the next generation.