J. H. Huebert on Lifesharers

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LifeSharers: A Step Toward a Free Market in Organs

by J. H. Huebert

LifeSharers seeks to mitigate the government's deadly ban on organ sales.

LifeSharers, a non-profit organization, does this by creating an incentive for everyone to become an organ donor. That is, LifeSharers members agree to be organ donors, and thereby get the first chance to receive fellow members' organs if they ever need one.

The idea is that, in all fairness, those who are willing to give should be first to receive. And this incentive for donation creates some price for organs -- i.e., you "pay" for your increased chances of receiving an organ through your willingness to donate.

That's far from a free market with proper prices, but it gets around the government's forcibly imposed price-fixing at zero.

Recently, I was interviewed about LifeSharers for a television news story. But as you can see from the film footage below, the story doesn't bring out any of those important points.

Also, and contrary to the newswoman's statement, LifeSharers is not a "club" at all because anyone can join for free -- you just have to be willing to donate your own organs when you die.

And if a LifeSharers member dies and no other LifeSharers member needs his organs, then the organs will go to someone else who needs them. They won't just be burned or buried like non-donors' organs.

What could be wrong with any of that? How could anyone oppose something which at least in some small way will help mitigate the state imposed organ shortage nightmare? The interviewer, of course, did not ask those questions. For more details on LifeSharers, visit the LifeSharers website, and read the articles about LifeSharers at LewRockwell.com (1 2 3).

© 2006 J. H. Huebert. Video used under fair use.