Selling Body Parts

From Slate:

Last week, William Shatner sold his kidney stone to the Web site GoldenPalace.com for $25,000. Shatner, who donated the proceeds to charity, convinced his doctors to give him the stone, which was taken out last autumn. . . .

There are few laws governing medical keepsakes. The California Supreme Court has ruled that living people do not have a right to sue for the return of cell lines removed from them during surgery. It's unclear what effect this decision has had, though. Many hospitals in California still return tissues, and doctors in other states sometimes refuse requests, even if they don't have the backing of state law. Some hospitals forbid giving patients their removed pieces, but the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has no overarching regulations in this area.

Ben Barros

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