Can You Sell Your Kidney?

There are a number of ways you can legally make money selling your body (or parts of it). You may have heard of people selling hair and even kidney stones. If you’re hard up for cash though you may be wondering about what other parts of your body you can legally sell. You may even find yourself wondering, “can you sell your kidney?”

Can You Sell Your Kidney?

No. You can’t legally sell your kidney. No matter how hard up for cash you are not many licensed doctors will perform an elective kidney removal. It is a pretty serious surgery, not to mention the moral implications of selling your kidney.

How to Sell Your Kidney

If you were going to try and sell your kidney anyway you could probably do so on the Black Market but it isn’t something anyone should do, like ever. Dealing with others on the Black Market will likely end up with you missing a kidney and your cash. Not to mention, once again, the moral implications of selling your kidney. 

You can legally sell you kidney in Iran, according to some online forums but there is no absolute truth to this and, once again, you’d be dealing with the Black Market.

Other Body Parts You Can Legally Sell

While you can’t legally sell your kidney there are plenty of body parts you are able to sell if you need the extra cash. Here are 10 of the best ways to make money selling things other than your kidney:

1. Blood: You can’t legally get paid to donate blood, however, some blood donation centers will offer incentives (gift cards, etc.). You can earn up to $120 in gift cards this way.
2. Plasma: Unlike blood, donation centers are allowed to offer cash for plasma. If you are a frequent plasma donor you can make up to $400 per month.
3. Bone Marrow: Bone marrow is one of the more painful things to donate but you can make a substantial amount of cash from it. Donors in certain states can make up to $3,000 per donation.
4. Sperm: You can earn up to $1,000 per month donating sperm. Depending on the center you are donating to, there may be some minimum and maximum requirements. You’ll want to check with your local sperm bank.
5. Eggs: Just like men can donate sperm, women can also donate eggs. It is just a bit more involved. Generally you have to receive fertility shots and undergo a number of tests but it is worth the cash. You can make up to $8,000 per egg donation cycle.
6. Womb: You can’t sell your womb but you can sell its services. Surrogate mothers can make up to $45,000 a year holding someone else’s child in their womb.
7. Feces: Some patients require a feces transplant. While that sounds pretty gross, centers are giving about $40 per sample (must give four samples per week) and additional bonuses if you are able to give five samples per week. You’ll be required to pass a stool and blood test prior to donating.
8. Breast Milk: This might seem a bit creepy but milk banks were established for mothers who could not produce their own milk. You can get anywhere from $1 to $2.50 an ounce and some people have made up to $23,000 in a year donating breast milk.
9. Hair: Many people will pay good money for long, healthy hair to make wigs and weave. If you’ve got healthy hair and enough to chop you could earn up to $3,000 for your hair. Check out how to sell your hair here.
10. Medical Trials: Lastly, you can always search for medical trials locally. Most medical trials pay out anywhere from $1,500 to $5,000 for a week-long trial. You will likely have to plan to stay in a facility and not attend your regular day job during this time though.

There are some pretty odd ways to make money. While the answer is no to “can you sell your kidney,” there are plenty of other ways to make money with your body legally. 

Would you try any of these ways to make money? 

Photo: Popular Science

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Amanda Blankenship

Amanda Blankenship is a full-time stay-at-home mom. Her family recently welcomed their second child, a baby boy, into the world. She loves writing about various topics, including politics and personal finance. In her spare time, Amanda loves to play with her kids, make food from scratch, crochet, and read.