Organ futures is the short term used in academic proposals for Futures contract on organs from human Cadaver. They are not legal anywhere at this time.
Organ futures would be used as an economic means to encourage organ donation by compensating transplant Organ donation. Futures contract are essentially agreements to pay a specified sum at a specified time.
The four key academic papers describing proposals for organ futures were published between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s.
Proposals
The explanations below focus on donation of cadaveric organs and ignore living donation.
Proposal by Schwindt, Vining 1986
Schwindt & Vining (1986)
suggest that the organ donor is paid at the time they agree to enter the life-time futures contract. The agreement is mutually revocable. They propose a single government
broker as the buyer. Organ recipients would pay the supply price plus a load factor to the broker.
Proposal by Hansmann 1989
Hansmann (1989)
also suggests payment at the time of contract. Instead of
Direct Payments, he proposes reductions to
health insurance premiums as indirect incentive. The hospital where the organ donor dies is expected to verify a seller registry and determine the buyer. Buyers may be health insurance providers or specialist traders.
Proposal by Cohen 1989
Cohen (1989)
introduces a significant change to previous proposals by making payment conditional on organ extraction. Thus, the donor is not directly compensated during their lifetime. However, the payment is allocated to their estate or a designee. Hospitals are expected to notify buyers and preserve
Cadaver. They can be made liable for consequences of negligence. Buyers may be public or private organizations.
Proposal by Crespi 1994
Crespi (1994)
aims to integrate what he deems the most useful aspects of previous models into his own. Payment would be either guaranteed upon death or dependent on organ extraction. The money would go to the seller's estate; rights would not be assignable, and
Creditor would not have any claim on it. Hospitals are expected to notify the buyer, preserve the body and be prepared to harvest the organs if required. Any legally competent person can be a buyer and assign their
rights freely.
Current status
Currently, organ futures are legally unfeasible because most countries follow international guidance that requires financial neutrality from the donor.
