Mothers Who Donate and Mothers Who Sell- False Dichotomies in the Regulation of Living Organ Transplantation

Abstract

Statistics suggest that a disproportionate number of all living organ donors in the world are women. Similarly, sociological accounts of the black market for human organs indicate that many more women sell their organs for money than men. An analysis of both these trends demonstrates that the reasons which persuade women to give away their bodily organs are similar, regardless of whether their organs are sold or donated. Indian law, however, categorizes these similar experiences into two distinct categories. In this respect, the law appears to be going against the natural grain of society. In this paper, I use a systems theory perspective to analyze this apparent incompatibility between law and society. I argue that the legal system communicates in a code that is not perfectly translatable to social codes; and highlight this as a possible reason for the law’s failure to prevent commercial trade in human organs. Considering this, I argue in favour of legal interventions to correct the commodification of the female body in the larger social sphere, and for a need to reorient the Indian regulatory approach towards living organ transplantation.