Bloody Bioethics: Why Prohibiting Plasma Compensation Harms Patients and Wrongs Donors

This is the first book to argue in favor of paying people for their  blood plasma. It does not merely argue that offering compensation to  plasma donors is morally permissible. It argues that prohibiting donor  compensation is morally wrong--and that it is morally wrong for all of  the reasons that are offered against allowing donor compensation.

Opponents  of donor compensation claim that it will reduce the amount and quality  of plasma obtained, exploit and coerce donors, and undermine social  cohesion. James Stacey Taylor argues that empirical evidence  demonstrates that compensating plasma donors greatly increases the  amount of plasma obtained with no adverse effects on the quality of the  pharmaceutical products that are manufactured from it. Prohibiting  compensation thus harms patients by reducing their access to the  medicines they need. He also argues that it is the prohibition of  compensation--not its offer--that exploits donors, fails to respect the  moral need to secure a person's authoritative consent to her treatment,  and prevents donors from giving their informed consent to donate.  Prohibiting compensation thus not only harms patients but also wrongs  donors.

Bloody Bioethics will appeal to researchers, advanced  students, and medical professionals interested in bioethics, moral  philosophy, and the moral limits of markets.