Current international trade of bodily commodities only widens the economic gap between develop and developing countries. Commodification is the process where object are converted into items with useful or monetary value (Lock and Nyuen, 2010). In countries such as India and Bangladesh, which will discuss further on, these trade are not only done illegally but covered by doctors for economic gain(Moniruzzaman, 2012). Moreover, social issues that arise from this commodity trade differ between the wealthy and middle class transplant recipients which purchase a bodily commodity as saving a life whereas, seller from Bangladesh are fearful from disclosing information due to the high social stigma surrounding the selling of body parts. (Moniruzzaman, 2012). Political systems are now put to question as seen with the Icelandic Health Sector Database Act (139/1998) which passed on 17th December 1998, which showed that medical records can be used for a commercial research database (Greenhough, 2006). This essay will discuss economic and social issues of trade in bodily commodities primarily in India and Bangladesh and the inequalities that may arise if this current state of trade furthers.
The lower class have been victims to the bioviolence from groups which has resulted in severe social consequences. The term bioviolence is defined as an instrument to transform human bodies either living or dead either whole or in parts, as sites to diverse exploitation viable through new medical technologies (Moniruzzaman, 2012). Due to this individuals have been pressured to sell kidneys or other body parts and have faced long term social barriers, specifically in Bangladesh 79% of them become socially isolated and Iranians 21% of the sellers are divorced following the surgery (Moniruzzaman, 2012). The reason for these statistics could potentially be due to dominate Islamic religious views in the region, where Bangladesh 89.5% (National Master, 2018) and Iran being 89% are both Shi’a Muslim (World Population Review, 2018) organ transplant of any kind is frond upon, only accepted when given to a family member and even only Muslims (Mostafazadeh-Bora and Zarghami, 2007). There other perspective of this bioviolence such as ones purchasing a bodily part, wealthy and middle-class, which tend to dismiss and claim that there is no other choice. In a case from Umma Habiba Dipon used charity money to purchase a kidney from an illegal trade and publicly concealed the purchase, a middle class women. When questioning the husband of why mot to dontate himself the response was he felt obligated not to put his only life at risk and risk his families lives (Moniruzzaman, 2012).
Not only this but could also affect the community around the area of study when acquiring bodily commodities, for example during medical research in a Kenyan village there has been drastic social impact of the villagers local idioms such as ‘kachinja’ which translated to blood-stealing strangers through this reflect the experiences with researchers and villagers and also idioms are used to emphasise social relations (Geissler, 2005). This idiom expressed fears about the extraction of value from bodies and about unequal exchange, being drained by an uncontrollable outside power possessing superior knowledge for antisocial purposes (Geissler, 2005). In these villages the reason for negative local idiom is the lack of care for Kenyan cultural and social practices from the researchers, as some villagers felt uncomfortable when researchers went for ‘home visits’ ask for blood and leave. As a result of this have collectively understood that their blood was just being used and now have social issues with trusting foreigners. Socially, there has been a clear disregard and dissociation to the subject resulting in social consequences for individuals due to researchers and kidney buyers.
Despite buyers promising kidney sellers financial gain and medical support, kidney sellers economically suffered long-term consequences. The term biopiracy through which the dominant class are patenting biological resources, such as genetic cell lines or plant substances of the marginalized population (Moniruzzaman, 2012), this only not only unethical but also causes the gap between countries economic. On a small scale such within Bangladesh, 78% of the sellers reported that their economic condition had worsen after the selling of their bodily parts, as well as some losing jobs resulting in a huge economic impact on families (Moniruzzaman, 2012). Furthering the economic gap between the poor and wealthy as bioviolence and transplant enterprise are intertwined with one another which means that it has become inevitable for the poor to be exploited whether it may be through not paying enough or overcharging. For example, a seller by the name of Monu received from his recipient as little as 40,000 Taka ($600) one third of the promised amount (Moniruzzaman, 2012). This is one of most sellers experience of exploitation for bodily parts but due to the poverty that some live in their only option to get some financial stability is to sell body parts. This raises the question is how is this sable to be avoided or even prevented at time because
Not only are there economic and social issue that arise from this bodily commodities but as well as political system are now put to question, as seen in Iceland. In 1997 deCODE genetics established its headquarters in Reykjavík, the CEO, Kari Stefansson, decided to capitalise on the geographical advantages Iceland, an isolated island, to create a genetic, genealogical, and medical record for as many Icelanders as possible (Greenhough, 2006). However, genealogical data could not be freely accessed but through an agreement with Frisk Software, an Icelandic genealogic company, deCODE gained access to the genealogical data that was required for the database (Greenhough, 2006). The Icelandic government was approached by deCODE and the following year a bill was introduced to the Icelandic public, the terms of this bill were granting a twelve-year license for deCODE to create and manage a centralised database of Icelandic medical record on the basis of presumed consent (Greenhough, 2006). There was backlash of this first draft of the bill primarily due to the ‘presumed consent’ of the Icelander and also the concern of privacy. Also scientific groups protested against this bill as it only granted a single operator an exclusive access which could affect other research groups within Iceland. As a result of this a second bill was drafted which was introduced in late June 1998 with changes. (Winickoff, 2006). The changes included that Icelanders could decide if they wanted to opt out of the database, improved provision for the data such as encryption of information and also granted the purchase of access the data so long as the research didn’t conflict with deCODE. The Icelandic Health Sector Database was passed in December 1998 and in 2000 deCODE was grated to create the HSD (Health Sector Database) (Greenhough, 2006). Through the passing of this bill opened the door to other countries potentially using the political system to benefit and further bodily commodities more as a services and goods. This has shown how medical records are not able to be used as a new form of bodily commodity, a commercial research database which is feared as shown by the initial reaction of Icelanders.. However, to further the search for genetic disease there needs to be new kinds of commodities are being created in the form of medical records of entire populations (Palsson, 1999), indeed statistical and computer analysis is the next step to understanding the unknown of genetics.
There is another issue at hand when it comes to the illegal trade of bodily parts which is how it is able to be tackled? This is described best by Moniruzzaman that a regulate organ market would not solve the deception, manipulation, misinformed consent or the equity, and the rights to kidney sellers. Instead it would escalate the bioviolence due to a regulated market resulting in more cost that would need to be met. Bioviolence would be rationalize, institutionalize, and normalize which would only damage the economic underclass (Moniruzzaman,2012). The outlaw trade of bodily parts at its current state is favoured to the wealthy and middle class which is evident and this type of illegal trade could never be equal for both parties. Neither could a regulated market so all together this type of bodily commodity shouldn’t progress but enterprises that have intertwined with legal certified doctors shows that nowhere in the near future will this trade be erased.
In conclusion, it is evident that in various regions that there has been exploitation of the underclass of their economic situation such as Bangladeshi people desperate to for money or even through bioviolence from buyers causing them or even forcing them to ‘donate’ bodily parts. whereas the wealthy and middle class often purchase from the outlaw trade to not risk their family or friends lives which has resulted this type of trade to be normalised in these region. However, the creation of a regulated market would not cause the inequality to be solved of the current state of the trade of bodily commodities but rather rationalize, institutionalize, and normalize the act of bioviolence. On the other hand the political system that has arose of bodily commodities in the for of database has proven to be fruitful and taken to account in the final draft that they prioritised privacy and understood that there was a minority that didn’t want to take part in the data base and deCODE responded accordingly with the second draft of allowing to opt out. Overall bodily commodities have shown that there are inequalities between the wealthy and poor but through the Icelandic Health Sector Database has shown that in the near future there could be new standard set in stone for future biotech companies that create new bodily commodities that there is no inequality in the process of acquiring the bodily commodities.