Human placentas today are worth actually $0.00 although some people believe that a human placenta is worth at least $50,000.00
The reason it's thought by some people that a human placenta today is worth $50,000.00 is a result of the estimated commercial value of the finished products that are created from a single placenta.
Tissue procurement organizations and biotech companies collect donated placentas from hospitals and they process the tissue of the placenta into advanced medical treatments, which include stem cell therapy, wound and burn care and ophthalmic and dental surgery.
For ophthalmic and dental surgery, extracted tissue from the placenta is used to repair cornea damage and aid in spinal or dental reconstructive procedures.
For wound and burn care, placental membranes are processed into grafts to treat diabetic ulcers, severe burns and complex wounds.
And for stem cell therapy, the placenta is highly saturated with valuable stem cells that are used in regenerative medicine.
The final street value of the extracted clinical doses of the placenta combined can equal or even exceed the $50,000.00, but none of the money goes to the birth parents for the placenta.
legal sales of the placenta are prohibited, but a black market for the sale of placentas does exist in some select regions, like South China.
Reports from the South China Morning Post also highlight an illegal trade in China where fresh placentas are sold illicitly for around $340.00 USD or 2,400 yuan.
The underground market is also largely drive by traditional beliefs that eating the placenta yields anti-aging and health benefits, although these claims also lack medical proof.
While you can't legally sell the placenta, you can donate the placenta, keep it or even place the placenta in private cord or placenta banking.
If you want to donate the placenta, you can donate the placenta through specialized programs like Versiti, or Gift of Life Michigan.
It costs nothing to donate your placenta and the tissue from the placenta that is donated is used for life saving surgeries and even research.
You can also pay a private cord or placenta banking company like Anja Health or Cells4Life to harvest and freeze your placenta's stem cells for your future medical use for your family.
And many hospitals also allow you to take the placenta home if you request to do so in advance and some parents want to keep the placenta for burying it for cultural reasons.