4 ms·

No, you are selling your labor - the work your body does. Not your body parts.

Retric 8y ago
Blood is not really a body part in the way most people think of it. It’s much closer to saliva in that it’s generated by the body and used up fairly quickly. Red blood cells for example live for around 120 days which is limited because they don’t have DNA. I suspect this is an adaptation to both increase hemoglobin transport, but also to reduce cancer risks.
- Symmetry 8y ago
  The only blood component you can sell in the US is plasma, which is replaced much more quickly than that.
freeflight 8y ago
The human body suffers just as much from wear and tear like anything else, maybe even more so due to being just a bunch of flesh/bones that can't be easily replaced. In that context, anybody who works hard labor is trading in part of their health for income because many labor-intensive jobs will take their toll on the body [0]. Up to a point where people either have to switch line of work or go into early retirement, as certain parts of their body stop functioning properly and they are stuck with chronic pains for the remainder of their lives. [0] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-work-occupational-risks/physically-demanding-jobs-may-shorten-mens-lives-idUSKCN1IW2Z3 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-work-occupational-...
- blattimwind 8y ago
  > The human body suffers just as much from wear and tear like anything else, maybe even more so due to being just a bunch of flesh/bones that can't be easily replaced. The human body is amazingly reliable, no comparison to "dead" (non-self-sustaining, non-self-renuvating) machines.
- eveningcoffee 8y ago
  I agree but you are still not selling your body - only the wear of your body. I also do not find selling your hair, your blood, your saliva or urine or your sperm or what ever your body produces as selling your body. It does not follow that there are no ethical boundaries for departing from these "products".

Blood is not really a body part in the way most people think of it. It’s much closer to saliva in that it’s generated by the body and used up fairly quickly. Red blood cells for example live for around 120 days which is limited because they don’t have DNA. I suspect this is an adaptation to both increase hemoglobin transport, but also to reduce cancer risks.

Symmetry 8y ago
The only blood component you can sell in the US is plasma, which is replaced much more quickly than that.

freeflight 8y ago

The human body suffers just as much from wear and tear like anything else, maybe even more so due to being just a bunch of flesh/bones that can't be easily replaced. In that context, anybody who works hard labor is trading in part of their health for income because many labor-intensive jobs will take their toll on the body [0]. Up to a point where people either have to switch line of work or go into early retirement, as certain parts of their body stop functioning properly and they are stuck with chronic pains for the remainder of their lives. [0] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-work-occupational-risks/physically-demanding-jobs-may-shorten-mens-lives-idUSKCN1IW2Z3 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-work-occupational-...

blattimwind 8y ago
> The human body suffers just as much from wear and tear like anything else, maybe even more so due to being just a bunch of flesh/bones that can't be easily replaced. The human body is amazingly reliable, no comparison to "dead" (non-self-sustaining, non-self-renuvating) machines.
eveningcoffee 8y ago
I agree but you are still not selling your body - only the wear of your body. I also do not find selling your hair, your blood, your saliva or urine or your sperm or what ever your body produces as selling your body. It does not follow that there are no ethical boundaries for departing from these "products".