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Ending Organ Donor Shortages?

Posted by michael on from the death-penalty-for-jaywalking dept.

Tracy2112 writes "An interesting and recurring science fiction theme is the idea of black-market traffic in human body parts -- as Larry Niven termed it, "organlegging". According to this USA Today's Op-Ed piece on Yahoo, we're getting closer . . . including LifeSharers.com, , an organization working to sign up "preferred donors" who agree to preferentially donate to other LifeSharer members. Is this a great way to reward people for being generous with their unused body parts -- or a scary flashback to how early 'subscription-only' fire departments worked?"

12 of 405 comments (clear)

  1. To Increase Organ Donors by BandwidthHog · · Score: 5, Funny

    Simply make donor status mandatory for a motorcycle license and eliminate the helmet laws.

    --

    Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
    1. Re:To Increase Organ Donors by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Motorcycles are commonly known by E.R. staffers as "donorcycles". We might as well make it official...

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  2. The Meaning of Life? by fidget42 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hopefully this won't turn into a Scene from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. "But I'm not dead yet!"

    --
    The dogcow says "Moof!"
  3. In related news... by debilo · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...Slashdot readers around the world complain about problems with access to organs, mainly female breasts!

  4. The RIAA has a plan. by acceleriter · · Score: 4, Funny

    There will be no shortage of organs when they're HARVESTED FROM CRIMINAL P2P USERS after the death penalty copyright infringement cases roll in.

    --

    CEE5210S The signal SIGHUP was received.

  5. Cool by Unregistered · · Score: 4, Funny

    So if i donate organs to organ donors, my organs will be redonated upon the recipiant's death. That's awesome. My spleen might live for 300 years in 15 differnt bodies with this program.

  6. Re:Need to change the approach by seinman · · Score: 3, Funny
    When the time comes that my death or persistant vegetative state is imminent, then my wife will give them consent - but not before.

    Too late now.
  7. Lessons from history by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    There are tales of people whose kidneys burnt to the ground while a competitor's fire brigade stood watching. It took the great liver holocaust that burnt half the city before things changed. Let's not repeat the same mistakes.

  8. Re:Organ Transplants Shouldnt Be a "Right" by JewFish · · Score: 3, Funny

    We waste way too much time energy and money prolonging the lives of halfdead people. Is this a crack at the /. crowd?

  9. The Onion by eap · · Score: 3, Funny

    Just raise speed limits in school zones to 170 MPH, as The Onion recommended.

  10. Re:Counterpoint (well it has to be said...) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    (Figures are out there but I don't know them - I'd like to see something greater than a 3 year post operation survival rate).

    AKA I pulled this shit out of my ass to look smart but I can't back any of it up.

  11. Re:Not a registered organ donor? Then no transplan by Guppy06 · · Score: 2, Funny

    "If you want to be eligible to receive transplanted organs should you ever need them, you must be a registered organ donor."

    Except I'd imagine a lot of the people who need organs don't have much in the way of usable organs themselves. Or are we so desparate that we'll take organs from smoking alchoholics?