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Abstract
With the enactment of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA) in 1994, the Indian state sought to bring to a halt illegal organ sale and to encourage cadaver organ donation. A continuously low number of cadaveric organ donations as well as related difficulties faced by the government in banning the market lead proponents of organ sale to again argue for its legalization. Rather than examining policy discussions at the macro level, this essay argues that difficulties implementing the THOA hinge upon ways in which the option of cadaver organ donation has been ‘brought to the public’. It explores ethical publicity – publicity that promotes cadaveric organ harvesting via the use of symbolic and cultural tropes – and unravels how it interacts with and addresses concerns voiced by ethical resistance; that is, resistance to cadaver organ donation that is also based upon religious or cultural resources. Consequently, this essay constructs a conversation between ethical publicity and ethical resistance, thereby questioning the relationship between rhetoric and culture, textual resources and culture as practice. This article not only reveals that the turn to organ sale might be premature, but also shows how conversations can open doors to new creative territories of embedding cadaveric organ donation in society.