In a truly free market economy, you'd be worth a lot of money in organs
alone -- selling a kidney or lung could solve your money woes. However,
the government and our sense of propriety permit you to only cash in on
plasma, hair and (maybe) breast milk.
You can legally
trade plasma for cash in the U.S.,
the fluid in which your blood corpuscles and other tiny bits circulate
through your blood system. In most larger cities, there are clinics that
will pay you up to $35 or so for some of your plasma, which you can
donate twice a week. The process, which involves taking blood, draining
off the plasma and returning the remains to your system, takes around
half an hour to an hour. To donate, you'll need to be relatively healthy
and drug free.
The hirsute can also make some quick cash by
selling off their hair.
Hair must be at least ten inches long, and uncolored. Well tended (not
over-shampooed or sun damaged) hair is worth more. Web sites such as
The Hair Trader
serve as a market for those looking to sell or buy hair. Sales
announced on the site range from several hundred to over a thousand
dollars for a generous length of tresses.
Finally, some mothers who find themselves with an overabundance of breast milk have taken to
offering the extra for sale
on the Internet. However, the trade, of questionable legality and
fraught with health issues, remains rather clandestine and we can't
recommend it, even in a pinch.