Do you own your body

Bodies & Profit
In the last two hours, activist and academic Donna Dickenson discussed the commercialization of the human body. According to Dickenson, we do not 'own' our own bodies in any legal sense -- a fact corporations and universities have used to their advantage. Dickenson cited the case of John Moore, who in 1976 had an operation to have his spleen removed. Researchers later developed a cell line worth $3 billion from Moore's tissue. Moore sued and a court ruled that he had no right to profit from the commercialization of anything developed from tissue removed from his body, she said.

Dickenson reported on the organ trade in China, where tissues and organs from executed prisoners are sold "to order." She also talked about women in India who sold their kidneys to make money after the 2004 tsunami. Most of the organ money went to a broker, she explained, noting that 75% of the women who sold their kidneys remained in debt and with poorer health. Dickenson also commented on the Eastern European egg trade, patenting genes, as well as private cord blood banks, who she said provide a product with only "speculative future benefits."
www.donnadickerson.net