Body Shopping : The Economy Fuelled by Flesh and Blood

Our tissues, genes, and organs are becoming, in the words of the head of one pharmaceutical company, 'the currency of the future'. From the trafficking of women for their eggs to 'beauty junkies', Dickenson reveals the ingenious ways that body parts are converted into profits. Drawing on 20 years of insider knowledge, Dickenson's sweeping exploration goes beyond the horror stories to suggest a range of strategies to bring the global biotechnology industry to heel. Body Shopping offers an unflinching examination of the new economy that has sprung up to take advantage of your body. Our tissues, genes, and organs are becoming, in the words of the head of one pharmaceutical company, the currency of the future. From the trafficking of women for their eggs to beauty junkies, Donna Dickenson reveals the myriad and often ingenious ways that body parts are converted into profits. Drawing on over 20 years of insider knowledge, Dickenson examines the evolving legal position, the historical long view, and the latest biomedical research to provide an unprecedented, sweeping approach that goes beyond the horror stories to suggest a range of new strategies to bring the global biotechnology industry to heel. Despite what the media or even your doctor might say, the current biotechnological gold rush is not inevitable and can be resisted. This gripping, powerful book is essential reading for anyone concerned with the ownership and the commercial use (and abuse) of our bodies and those of our loved ones. The fight isnt over yet. Indeed, its hardly begun. Donna Dickenson is Professor Emerita of Medical Ethics and Humanities at the University of London and recipient of the 2006 International Spinoza Lens award. From the Publisher: "In Body Shopping, award-winning writer Donna Dickenson makes a case against the new-found rights of businesses to harvest body parts and gain exclusive profit from the resulting products and processes. To illustrate her case, she presents a series of compelling stories of individuals injured or abused by the increasingly rapacious biotechnology industry." Body Shopping offers a fresh, international, and completely up-to-date take on the evolving legal position, the historical long view, and the latest biomedical research-an approach that goes beyond a mere recital of horror stories to suggest a range of new strategies to bring the biotechnology industry to heel. The result is a gripping, powerful book that is essential reading for everyone from parents to philosophers, and from scientists to lawmakers-everyone who believes that no human should ever be reduced to the sum of their body parts Advances in technology are turning our tissues, genes, and organs into 'the currency of the future'. This book reveals the ingenious ways in which body parts are converted into commodities. It scrutinizes the legal position, the historical long view, and biomedical research, and suggests strategies to bring biotechnology industry to heel.