Supplying Organs for Transplantation

The possibility that a market for organs will develop arises as a result of recent scientific successes in interchanging human parts and the consequent imbalance that has arisen between the quantity of organs supplied and the quantity demanded. Currently, and in the foreseeable future, unless our laws are changed, the quantity supplied will not equal the quantity demanded at a zero price. When useful items are in short supply in a market economy monetary inducements to increase the supply are commonly offered. The question then arises whether society should permit such inducements in order to ensure a satisfactory supply of human organs. That question does not have a short, easy answer.