There is an interesting loophole in the law. It is illegal to sell body parts, but you can be monetarily compensated for donations you make. I recently came across an article at MSN Money that highlights this very point. Aside from the first idea they mentioned, most of the ideas presented in the article are available to everyone.

This article makes me wonder how far this loophole extends. For example, the idea of plasma donations is based on the fact that you donate the plasma and get compensated for your time. By viewing it this way, the donor is not actually selling their plasma. On the same token, if I were to donate a kidney to someone in need, would it be legit for them to give me a large sum of money as a thank you?

While you are pondering this point, if you need some extra cash in a hurry, you can go down and donate some plasma. If you just want to do something good and aren’t concerned about getting paid for it (and don’t want to deal with the large bore needles they use for plasma donations) you should give some blood. You won’t get paid, but you will help to save a life.