I'm watching HBO's Tales from the Organ Trade, and if nothing else, it does portray that the issue is not a simple one, which I don't think surprises anyone. A lot of the problem is clearly born of desperation of more than one kind. For individuals who need an organ in order to live, the source of desperation is clear, but for those who find themselves on the giving end, the matter is more complex and layered, having to do with poverty, cultural and informational isolation, people (not patients, but those trafficking the organs) willing to take advantage of them. It's a complex matter.
If my organs were harvested, the person receiving them would go through hell. My illness makes me damaged goods and my kidneys and digestive track are damaged goods. Only thing that would be worth money would be the metal from my dental work. How much does gold sell for these days? Though this scares me because if I do die, and so happens in some near future, organ harvested from the recently deceased is legal by doctor's overruling (not by choice of the deceased and family), that person will end up with a rude awakening. And what happens if I wake up on the operating table the moment before I am butchered? Well...there is always technology that will allow us to turn ourselves into cyborgs.
