Should We Be Free To Sell Our Own Bone Marrow To Save Lives? (VIDEO)

by Austin Petersen

Feds Trying To Block Bone Marrow Donors

As if the Obamacare rollout wasn’t enough of a health disaster, now the federal government is going after bone marrow donors. [contextly_sidebar id=”062905187e50690dfe4fe6639fe2006b”]

Compensating bone marrow donors became a major felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, thanks to the National Organ Transplant Act. To fight back, cancer patients, their families, and a world-renowned marrow transplant surgeon teamed up with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to bring a lawsuit against Attorney General Eric Holder in federal court.

They scored a big win in December 2011 when the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled the National Organ Transplant Act did not apply to bone marrow stem cells extracted from the blood, which is the case for about 70 percent of donations. This technique is almost identical to technique used by blood donors. So the court ruled Congress did not mean to ban compensating bone marrow donors when they banned compensation for “organs.”

Now the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is trying to re-define the word “organ.”

If the HHS gets their way, an “organ” would include marrow cells donated through the bloodstream. Basically, that would re-impose the ban on compensating bone marrow donors.

Jeff Rowes, Senior Attorney at IJ and lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the case, explained why this new regulation would devastate many bone marrow donors:

“Every day, people die while waiting to find a compatible bone marrow donor.  The goal of our lawsuit was to enable researchers to find out if donor compensation would lead to more donors. Our victory made that possible, but now HHS once again wants to make it a felony punishable by up to five years in prison just to do basic research on a promising, lifesaving initiative.”

This isn’t a done deal.  Individuals who’ve received or given bone marrow donations, or know of someone who has, can leave comments on the HHS website: http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=HRSA_FRDOC_0001-0115

People who support freedom of the body and voluntary transactions are also encouraged to leave a (polite) comment on the HHS website.  The deadline is December 2.




Austin Petersen is a homegrown Missourian with a lifelong passion for liberty. He grew up on a horse farm in Peculiar, Missouri and went on to attend Missouri State University, graduating with a degree in the Fine Arts. After developing a career in media in both New York City and Washington, D.C., he returned to Kansas City, MO, the city he now calls home. In 2016, Petersen appeared on the national stage as a candidate for president of the United States. He took second place in the crowded Libertarian primary behind Governor Gary Johnson and ahead of cyber security maverick John McAfee. During his campaign, Petersen earned many high-profile conservative endorsements, including Mary Matalin, Erick Erickson and Leon Wolf of RedState.com. Petersen also brings decades of professional experience in a wide variety of fields, from content production and media to business and political activism. He is the owner and chief executive of Stonegait LLC, a consulting firm specializing in photo and video services. He was also the director of production at FreedomWorks and an associate producer for Judge Andrew Napolitano’s show “Freedom Watch” on the Fox Business Network. Additionally, Petersen has a national following as a commentator and professional pundit. He is the founder of The Libertarian Republic, a powerful online news source for the public that receives an average of 1 million unique visits monthly and whose podcast, The Freedom Report, receives an average of one million monthly downloads. He is also a frequent contributor on television, appearing on Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, MSNBC and on dozens of local radio shows.

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