Kidneys save lives. Fortunately, there are hundreds of millions of spares. The tricky part: getting healthy people to donate theirs. My applied ethics research explores solutions.

I also study the moral limits of markets. This theoretical work challenges the standing view that individual markets are the right objects of moral assessment.

The Market’s Moral Limits

All existing theories of the market’s moral limits assume that individual markets are the appropriate object of moral assessment. That’s false.

• Joint production and causal attribution

• The Separable-or-Accessible Dilemma

• From single markets to market complexes

Kidney Donation: Language & Social Meaning

The language of donation—emphasizing altruism, heroic sacrifice, and the “gift of life”—has troubling expressive and epistemic effects that distort how the practice is understood and judged.

• Altruism and semantic occlusion

• Hermeneutical injustice and the dominant narrative

• Testimonial smothering and distorted uptake

Kidneys & Money

Regulated compensation for kidney donation will save lives and reduce suffering. It’s a moral imperative.

• Incentives without commodification

• Design for consent, safety, and fairness

• Motivational crowding