The Organ Sale Debate: Body Autonomy or Human Exploitation?

Just yesterday, I was having a discussion with a friend of mine about the reason why I don’t really eat meat anymore. Aside fresh meat which is coming straight from my house or from someone I personally know, you’d hardly find me buying meat from outside, especially in the market.

This is because over the years , there has been a surge in cases regarding the sale of human meat and meat from other animals in the form of beef that we all know. Sometimes, butchers even go as far as selling meat of deceased animals who died from infections or diseases and this meat when consumed can go a long way to hard the individual. I am not a huge fun of meat and so I don’t really mind not eating it unlike some people.

In the world we are in, millions and billions of people lose their lives on the daily basis. And daily, we bury so many people who have been called home. But how many of these people are left to lie in their graves in peace. If you thought the worst thing that could happen in the mea market is the sale of bad meat, I’d like to tell you that human meat is sold in the market as regular meat. You and I wouldn’t know because how would we know.

A while back, one doctor I work with was telling me about how the mortuary men in her home country sell body parts of deceased, especially the liver, intestines and other parts which look just like that of animals. These people buy these body parts and sell them in the market as regular meat and people buy and consume them without even knowing where they are coming from. Some people also buy these body parts knowingly for their own stuff- if you know what I mean.

Speaking of the human body, I’d like to believe that everyone of us has a right over his body and what they use it for, that’s if you’re doing the right thing. The cost of one kidney could change my life forever and as someone struggling, I can decide to sell my kidney to someone who really needs it in exchange for the price of a normal functioning kidney. I’ve heard of people selling some of their organs for money on the back market but I don’t know how true that is. What I know about which I know is true is people selling their eggs and sperms in exchange for me. To me, it’s business as usual to these people and they’d probably be thinking, why keep something I have in excess which I have no use for when I can actually me making money from it.

I don’t know much about the rules and laws around selling your organ for money but I’d say, everyone will do what he wants regardless . And for some people, it’s all business as usual.

---

all images belong to me.

---