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Koplin, Titmuss and the social tail that wags the dog

Commentary on Koplin, “From blood donation to kidney sales”

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Abstract

This paper is a commentary on Koplin’s “From Blood Donation to Kidney Sales”. While appreciative of his paper, it argues that an argument from social solidarity to a Titmussian donor system is problematic. It reviews weaknesses in Titmuss, discusses problems about Titmussian blood donation as a vehicle for solidarity, and explores problems about extending a Titmussian approach to organs.

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Notes

  1. See, on this NIH Archive MSC 393, Box 20, “Transcript of Proceedings, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Definitions of Voluntary and Paid Blood Donors, Bethesda, MD March 18, 1976”.

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Correspondence to Jeremy Shearmur.

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This comment refers to the article available at doi:10.1007/s40592-015-0035-x.

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Shearmur, J. Koplin, Titmuss and the social tail that wags the dog. Monash Bioeth. Rev. 33, 123–129 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40592-015-0040-0

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