In France, “blood donors are not remunerated because the human body isn’t a commodity”, explains François Toujas, President of the Etablissement français du sang(French Blood Transfusion Agency). He refers to the ethical values of blood donation which should be: “an anonymous, voluntary and non-profit-making gesture” that guarantees an individual’s consent and emphasises the fact that selling one’s body has been legally banned for many years in France.
François Toujas also reacts to pressure aimed at donor remuneration, which he sees as “a catalyst promoting the commodification of the human body (organs, stem cells, etc.)” and moreover incompatible with donor and recipient safety. As far as he is concerned, “to think that the human body can be owned, bought or sold is an outmoded concept dating from a bygone era”.
Le Nouvel Economiste (01/06/2018)