Michigan Residents selling body parts to make ends meet

Sellers offer everything from hair to blood to make a buck
Christina Stolarz / The Detroit News

Commerce Township -- Heidi Fetzner is unemployed and willing to be creative to make a few bucks.

So when the German and psychology student at Kalamazoo College realized someone was willing to pay her $1,000 for her long brunette locks, her attitude was: Break out the scissors.

"Most of it I'm going to put in my bank account and just save because school is expensive," said Fetzner, 20, of Commerce Township. "It's a lot of money. You gotta do what you gotta do."


Fetzner is among those realizing that, in these tough times, the body isn't just a temple. It can be a gold mine.

As Michigan's economy continues to suffer, people are offering themselves up as medical guinea pigs for a quick buck to make ends meet. Some are selling plasma, others their hair for hundreds on the Internet, while others take the more extreme road by wanting to sell their eggs or participate in medical studies in exchange for payment and free medical exams.
Web site facilitates sales

"Necessity is the mother of invention," said Charles Ballard, economics professor at Michigan State University. "People can get really creative if they're pushed to the limit. Even a few hundred to scrape together might make a difference."

Fetzner initially planned to donate her locks because she wanted a shorter hairstyle. But when she saw TheHairTrader.com, she went for the easy money instead.

"I was like, oh boy, I feel selfish, but $1,000 sounds too good," she said.

And that's exactly why the site was created, said Jacalyn Elise, who encouraged her friend, a single mother, to sell her hair nearly three years ago to help with finances. The site has seen more than a 40 percent increase in the past six months in the number of people -- more than 100 of whom are from Metro Detroit like Fetzner -- wanting to sell their untreated locks.

The buyers use the hair to make wigs and hair extensions and for antique dolls, said Elise, founder and executive partner of the Murrieta, Calif.-based company.

Meanwhile, donations of plasma -- the clear liquid portion of the blood used to treat conditions such as trauma and burns -- have also climbed from 10 million nationwide in 2005 to more than 17.5 million last year, said Kara Flynn, director of global communications with Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association in Annapolis, Md.

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