Law Commons^™

Book Review: Body Banking From The Bench To The Bedside, Natalie Ram

All Faculty Scholarship

How much is a kidney worth? An ounce of breast milk? Genetic material from an individual facing a Parkinson's diagnosis? In today's America, it depends on who is selling. One might think that such body products are beyond value or that their value depends on the individual characteristics of the supplier. But under existing American law and practices, what matters more is whether the seller is also the supplier of that body product, or whether the seller is another entity, such as a pharmaceutical company, hospital, or biobanker.