[Verified Answer]: Colin Benton, a British citizen, died of…

Colin Benton, a British citizen, died of renal disease in the summer of 1988 after a failed kidney transplant. Benton’s widow later revealed that the donor kidney had been obtained from a Turkish citizen who traveled to London for the surgery. The kidney donor was paid the equivalent of $4,400. When asked why he had sold the organ, the man explained that he needed the money to pay for medical treatment for his daughter. It was this case that led the British Parliament to outlaw organ sales. If a parent has no other way to raise money for surgery necessary to preserve the life of his child, is it morally permissible for him to sell a kidney? Is he blameworthy if, given the opportunity, he refuses to do so? Is selling one’s kidney different in any morally relevant way from selling one’s labor under potentially hazardous conditions (e.g. mining coal)?