Daniel Akst - Dan Akst is a journalist, essayist and novelist who wrote three books. His novel, The Webster Chronicle, is based on the lives of Cotton and Increase Mather. More

Dan Akst is a journalist, novelist and essayist whose work has appeared frequently in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Wilson Quarterly, and many other publications.

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Kidneys Again

By Daniel Akst

Aug 18 2009, 4:57 PM ET Comment

The Associated Press has a fascinating story about an unrepentant man who says he sold a kidney for $20,000, saving the life of a guy on Long Island who allegedly posed as his cousin. Legal questions aside, I can't imagine what's wrong with any of this. I hope black market kidneys will be available if I ever need one. Better yet, I hope we abolish the black market by establishing a sensible, regulated marketplace so that people needn't become criminals to save their own lives.

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