Discuss the following from a purely economic perspective (not a moral or ethical one).

• In the diagram, why is the supply curve vertical?
• If a market for human organs would eliminate, or greatly reduce the shortage of organs, why is there no such market?
• Does the law prohibiting the sale of organs open an underground market for donated organs?
• Use supply and demand figures to show what the organ market might look like.

Body Organs for Sale

It has become increasingly commonplace in medicine to transplant kidneys, lungs, livers, corneas, pancreases, and hearts from deceased individuals to those whose organs have failed or are failing. But surgeons and many of their patients face a growing problem: There are shortages of donated organs available for transplant. Not everyone who needs a transplant can get one. In 2012, there were 116,000 Americans on the waiting list for transplants. Indeed, an inadequate supply of donated organs causes an estimated 6,900 deaths in the United States each year.

Why Shortages?

Seldom do we hear of shortages of desired goods in market economies. What is different about organs for transplant? One difference is that no legal market exists for human organs. To understand this situation, observe the demand curve D1 and supply curve S1 in the accompanying figure. The downward slope of the demand curve tells us that if there were a market for human organs, the quantity of organs demanded would be greater at lower prices than at higher prices. Vertical supply curve S1 represents the fixed quantity of human P P1 organs now donated via consent before death. Because the price of these donated organs is in effect zero, quantity demanded Q3 exceeds quantity supplied Q1. The shortage of Q3 2 Q1 is rationed through a waiting list of those in medical need of transplants. Many people die while still on the waiting list.

S2 P SI DI O Q3 Po Q1 Q2