Body Shopping: The Economy Fuelled by Flesh and Blood

by Donna Dickenson

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 isn’t over yet. Indeed, it’s 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Sociology

240 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2008

Reviews

[Georgia King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read. Is quite an old book now, so would be interesting to see whether the concerns raised here have been at all met in contemporary research and approaches to the commodification of the body and its parts.

[Michael Leung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Advertisements are out there to offer egg donors amounts from $4500 to $50000, of which the genetic traits would determine the price. Blonde, tall, athletic and musical donors can get a higher remuneration! That's terrible! This trend is actually gaining momentum in the western countries!

What is even more alarming is that some biotech companies even offer pools of embryos - selecting only sperm donors with a higher degree and egg donors in their twenties with at least a college education - for the customors to choose. They defended their service as choice - choice a good thing!

Do they know what they are doing now? They are simply producing babies to order and custom-made!

This is just one of the examples of what the author called "body shopping" - the trend of making the body as a commodity and giving every body part a price tag.

This book is illuminating,especially in the century of biotechnology.

[Audacia Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel a little bit bad for giving this book only two stars, because it's sharp, insightful, and got me thinking a lot about the ethics of tissue "donation." However, it really could've been a feature in a sunday paper, and been left at that. I really like Dickenson's dissection (forgive me, I must pun!) of the ethics and laws around patents, human tissue, and banking of biodata, but the science wasn't written in an engaging way.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book presented basic information and a couple of famous cases involving the commercialisation of body parts, in particular eggs, and the relevant laws. However the ideas were not very well justified and elaborated, and they felt too emotional and one-sided at times. Overall an interesting read to gain some information but not very useful for obtaining a holistic, well-considered picture of the situation.

[Abbey · Rating 2 out of 5]

It reads much like a thesis. I found the first few chapters really interesting but it seemed to get more wordy and not so interesting as it progressed. Still some great jaw dropping facts and a scary notion of where the idustry is heading.

[Katy West · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book still has me thinking. I found it fascinating and rather worrying. I would recommend it for anyone interested in bioethics and international trade. It is well written and very clear.