Conclusion: Can the Organ Trade Be Stopped?

Abstract

I discuss organ trafficking from a social and cultural analytical perspective. I focus on the cultural and social mechanisms — in different historical periods and different cultural systems — which lay the basis for a trade in organs may occur. I compare with my experience of research in related medical fields such as xenotransplantation, in vitro fertilization, stem cell traveling, which are fields that I have investigated in a number of countries worldwide. I also discuss whether there are alternative ways to address the shortage of organs. Should we accept legal commercialized transplants? Or would this lead to the so-called slippery slope where people who are already in vulnerable situations are exploited?