From blood donation to kidney sales: the gift relationship and transplant commercialism

Monash Bioethics Review 33 (2-3):102-122 (2015)
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Abstract

In The Gift Relationship, Richard Titmuss argued that the practice of altruistic blood donation fosters social solidarity while markets in blood erode it. This paper considers the implications of this line of argument for the organ market debate. I defend Titmuss’ arguments against a number of criticisms and respond to claims that Titmuss’ work is not relevant to the context of live donor organ transplantation. I conclude that Titmuss’ arguments are more resilient than many advocates of organ markets suggest, and more relevant to the debate than is commonly appreciated.

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Julian Koplin
Monash University

Citations of this work

The Altruism Requirement as Moral Fiction.Luke Semrau - 2024 - Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 49 (3):257-270.
Ethics of Buying DNA.Julian J. Koplin, Jack Skeggs & Christopher Gyngell - 2022 - Journal of Bioethical Inquiry 19 (3):395-406.
Pure Altruistic Gift and the Ethics of Transplant Medicine.Paweł Łuków - 2020 - Journal of Bioethical Inquiry 17 (1):95-107.

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References found in this work

Knowledge in a social world.Alvin I. Goldman - 1991 - New York: Oxford University Press.
Value in ethics and economics.Elizabeth Anderson - 1993 - Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pluralism and Equality.Michael Walzer - 1983 - Journal of Business Ethics 4 (1):63-64.

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