Last Best Gifts: Altruism and the Market for Human Blood and Organs [Hardcover]

Kieran Healy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226322351 | ISBN-13: 978-0226322353 | Publication Date: September 1, 2006

More than any other altruistic gesture, blood and organ donation exemplifies the true spirit of self-sacrifice. Donors literally give of themselves for no reward so that the life of an individual—often anonymous—may be spared. But as the demand for blood and organs has grown, the value of a system that depends solely on gifts has been called into question, and the possibility has surfaced that donors might be supplemented or replaced by paid suppliers.
 
Last Best Gifts offers a fresh perspective on this ethical dilemma by examining the social organization of blood and organ donation in Europe and the United States. Gifts of blood and organs are not given everywhere in the same way or to the same extent—contrasts that allow Kieran Healy to uncover the pivotal role that institutions play in fashioning the contexts for donations. Procurement organizations, he shows, sustain altruism by providing opportunities to give and by producing public accounts of what giving means. In the end, Healy suggests, successful systems rest on the fairness of the exchange, rather than the purity of a donor’s altruism or the size of a financial incentive.

(20070128)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As an economic sociologist, Healy adds important dimensions to the intensifying debate over organ procurement."--Virginia Postrel, New York Times Book Review

(Virginia Postrel New York Times Book Review 20060130)

“Exploring an issue usually left to philosophers and economists, Kieran Healy goes beyond ethical and economic debates and investigates the organizational and cultural contexts behind people’s motivations to donate ‘human goods.’ Whether enough of these much needed goods are provided depends less on potential donors’ altruistic motives than on the structure and practices of the organizations handling the donations. Elegantly argued and well-written, Last Best Gifts makes a landmark contribution to our understanding of the social foundation of the moral order of exchange.”--Jens Beckert, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies

 

(Jens Beckert )

“In Last Best Gifts, Kieran Healy offers a timely, sophisticated, and original analysis of the complex organizational terrain of blood and organ donation. In doing so, he unpacks the crucial role that organizations and institutions play in creating the contexts for, and the meanings of, giving. His analysis suggests that the relationship between gifts and commodities, between giving and selling, is more complex than many scholars acknowledge.”--Wendy Espeland, Northwestern University

 

 

(Wendy Espeland )

From the Inside Flap

More than any other altruistic gesture, blood and organ donation exemplifies the true spirit of self-sacrifice. Donors literally give of themselves for no reward so that the life of an individual—often anonymous—may be spared. But as the demand for blood and organs has grown, the value of a system that depends solely on gifts has been called into question, and the possibility has surfaced that donors might be supplemented or replaced by paid suppliers.
            Last Best Gifts offers a fresh perspective on this ethical dilemma by examining the social organization of blood and organ donation in Europe and the United States. Gifts of blood and organs are not given everywhere in the same way or to the same extent—contrasts that allow Kieran Healy to uncover the pivotal role that institutions play in fashioning the contexts for donations. Procurement organizations, he shows, sustain altruism by providing opportunities to give and by producing public accounts of what giving means. In the end, Healy suggests, successful systems rest on the fairness of the exchange, rather than the purity of a donor’s altruism or the size of a financial incentive.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226322351
• ISBN-13: 978-0226322353
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,098,110 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and enlightening book, January 27, 2007

By 

Eszter Hargittai (Evanston, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Last Best Gifts: Altruism and the Market for Human Blood and Organs (Paperback)

Kieran Healy does an excellent job of showing how blood and organ donation is not simply a question of altruism, a belief held by many. The author shows, in a convincing manner, that the social organization of organ procurement has significant effects on the success rate of the different establishments charged with collecting donations. Organ donation is an incredibly sensitive subject - after all, one person's life depends on another's death - so it is wrong to ignore the social and cultural context in which decisions will be made about it. A talented writer, Kieran Healy tells a fascinating story of an important subject that has seen increasing press coverage, but never with the necessary level of careful considersation that is presented in this book.

As a sidenote, the book's layout is very classy. Some books are hard to read because of annoying font and confusing layout. This one is a pleasure to pick up not only thanks to its content, but also the careful design.

Disclosure: I went to graduate school with the author and followed the development of his work in this domain. This book is a wonderful product of his thinking and research on this topic over the years.