Organ futures is the short term used in academic proposals for
futures contracts on organs from human
cadavers. They are not legal anywhere at this time.
Organ futures would be used as an economic means to encourage
organ donation by compensating
transplant
Transplant or Transplantation may refer to:
Sciences
*Transplanting a plant from one location to another
*Organ transplantation, moving an organ from one body to another
*Transplant thought experiment, an experiment similar to Trolley problem
*Tra ...
organ donors.
Financial futures contracts are essentially agreements to pay a specified sum at a specified time.
The four key academic papers describing proposals for organ futures were published between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s.
Proposals
The explanations below focus on donation of cadaveric organs and ignore living donation.
Proposal by Schwindt, Vining 1986
Schwindt & Vining (1986) suggest that the organ donor is paid at the time they agree to enter the life-time futures contract. The agreement is mutually revocable. They propose a single government
broker as the buyer. Organ recipients would pay the supply price plus a load factor to the broker.
Proposal by Hansmann 1989
Hansmann (1989) also suggests payment at the time of contract. Instead of
direct payment, he proposes reductions to
health insurance
Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...
premiums as indirect incentive. The hospital where the organ donor dies is expected to verify a seller registry and determine the buyer. Buyers may be health insurance providers or specialist traders.
Proposal by Cohen 1989
Cohen (1989) introduces a significant change to previous proposals by making payment conditional on
organ extraction. Thus, the donor is not directly compensated during their lifetime. However, the payment is allocated to their estate or a designee. Hospitals are expected to notify buyers and preserve
cadavers. They can be made liable for consequences of negligence. Buyers may be public or private organizations.
Proposal by Crespi 1994
Crespi (1994) aims to integrate what he deems the most useful aspects of previous models into his own. Payment would be either guaranteed upon death or dependent on organ extraction. The money would go to the seller's
estate
Estate or The Estate may refer to:
Law
* Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations
* Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries.
** The Estates, representat ...
; rights would not be assignable, and
creditors would not have any claim on it. Hospitals are expected to notify the buyer, preserve the body and be prepared to harvest the organs if required. Any legally competent person can be a buyer and assign their
rights freely.
Current status
Currently, organ futures are legally unfeasible because most countries follow international guidance that requires financial neutrality from the donor.
[{{Cite web, url=http://www.declarationofistanbul.org/images/Policy_Documents/2018_Ed_Do/2018_Edition_of_the_Declaration_of_Istanbul_Final.pdf, title=Organ Tourism, Organ Trafficking, news and what you need to know - declarationofistanbul.org, website=www.declarationofistanbul.org, language=en-gb, access-date=2019-08-17]
References
Futures markets
Organ donation
Biomedicine