Common Questions

Can I Donate or Sell a Testicle?

No. There is no clinic, university, or research program that will buy one from you — and the $35,000 figure you have seen online never actually changed hands. Here is where that number came from, what the law says, and what your options really are.

The Short Answer

How Much Is a Testicle Worth?

Answer

Nothing, because there is no one to sell it to. No hospital, university, tissue bank, or research program in the United States buys human testicles. There is no price list, no waiting list, and no legal market. The $35,000 figure that circulates online was never paid to anyone.

$35,000 The figure repeated online, traced to one televised claim in 2013
$0 The amount actually paid to the man who made that claim
3 Testicle transplants known to have been performed in all of medical history

Where the $35,000 number came from

The figure traces to one man: Mark Parisi, a Las Vegas resident who made a living as a paid clinical trial volunteer. In a 2013 episode of the TLC series Extreme Cheapskates, he described a study that would remove a healthy testicle and replace it with an artificial implant, and put the payment at $35,000. The researchers were not buying the testicle. They were studying what happens when one is removed and a prosthetic is put in its place, and the fee was compensation for undergoing the procedure, the same way any trial pays for a participant's time and risk.

He never had the surgery. His screening results disqualified him because his testosterone was below the acceptable range, and the study was later postponed indefinitely for lack of qualified participants. He never received an implant and never received $35,000. He went on to enroll in a testosterone replacement trial that paid roughly $500 a month.

The version most people encounter today — a man who cashed a $35,000 check for a testicle and bought a sports car with it — comes from a fabricated 2015 post on a clickbait site, not from any medical source. Snopes has rated the claim that universities pay $35,000 to $50,000 for testicles False, noting plainly that universities and medical organizations "don't regularly buy testicles."

Why no legitimate program would pay you for one

Testicle transplantation is not a procedure that exists at any meaningful scale. Only about three have ever been performed, and every one was between identical twins — in 1978 in St. Louis, and again in Belgrade in December 2019, when a team led by Dr. Miroslav Djordjevic transplanted a testicle from one 36-year-old twin to his brother, who had been born without them. Twins are the only workable donors, for two reasons: the genetic match removes the need for lifelong anti-rejection drugs, and any children conceived afterward are still genetically the recipient's own.

That last point is the wall. A testicle transplanted between two unrelated people would keep producing the donor's sperm, not the recipient's. Any child conceived would be the donor's biological child. No transplant program is prepared to navigate that, which is why there is no procurement system, no registry, and no buyer.

Sources

The Law

Is It Legal to Sell a Testicle?

Selling a human organ for transplant has been a federal crime in the United States since 1984. Most explanations of this stop at "it's illegal." The specifics matter, because the law is narrower than people assume — and the part it does not cover is where your real options live.

  1. The statute

    The National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 makes it unlawful for any person to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human organ for valuable consideration for use in human transplantation, where the transfer affects interstate commerce.

    42 U.S.C. § 274e(a)

  2. The penalty

    Violating it is a felony. The statute sets a maximum fine of $50,000, up to five years in prison, or both. That exposure runs to the buyer as well as the seller — the law reaches anyone who acquires, receives, or transfers.

    42 U.S.C. § 274e(b)

  3. Testicles are covered, even though the statute never names them

    The 1984 list of "human organs" covers the kidney, liver, heart, lung, pancreas, bone marrow, cornea, eye, bone, and skin. Testicles appear nowhere in it. They are covered by a later route: federal regulation extends the definition to vascularized composite allografts, and federal transplant policy classifies genitourinary organs, including male genitalia, as exactly that. Those were folded into the federal organ definition effective July 3, 2014.

    A testicle transplanted the only way it can work — with its blood vessels surgically reconnected — is a human organ under the Act. Selling one for transplant is a federal crime.

    42 CFR § 121.13 · 42 CFR § 121.2

  4. What the Act does not prohibit

    The ban is written narrowly. It applies to organs for use in human transplantation — not to body parts in general. It does not make it illegal to be paid for taking part in a clinical trial, to donate removed tissue to medical research, or to be compensated for sperm, eggs, or plasma. Those are legal and are governed by an entirely different set of rules.

    This is the distinction the $35,000 story blurred. A study that pays you to undergo a procedure is paying for your participation and your risk. It is not buying the organ.

  5. Costs are not the same as payment

    "Valuable consideration" expressly excludes reasonable payments tied to removal, transportation, implantation, processing, preservation, quality control, and storage, along with a donor's travel, housing, and lost wages. A living donor being made whole for what donating cost them is not selling an organ.

    42 U.S.C. § 274e(c)(2)

One More Thing

If an ad, a message, or a website offers to pay you for a testicle, it is not a medical program. Treat it as a scam and do not send identifying documents, medical records, or money to it.

The Medicine

Why Testicle Donation Isn't Done

Donating a testicle is not a common medical procedure and is generally not practiced. There are several reasons for this:

  1. Complexity and Risks

    Testicle transplantation involves complex surgery with significant risks, including rejection of the transplanted tissue, complications from surgery, and the need for lifelong immunosuppressive medication for the recipient.

  2. Lack of Medical Necessity

    Unlike organs such as kidneys, liver, or heart, which are vital for survival, testicles are not essential for life. Their primary functions are the production of sperm and testosterone. Testosterone levels can be managed with hormone replacement therapy, and sperm donation or adoption are alternatives for those dealing with infertility.

  3. Ethical and Legal Considerations

    There are ethical and legal concerns surrounding the donation and transplantation of reproductive organs. These concerns include issues of consent, the potential for exploitation, and the implications of genetic material being passed on from donor to recipient.

  4. Lack of Established Procedures

    Unlike kidney or liver transplants, there is no established medical protocol for testicle transplantation. The procedures and long-term outcomes are not well-documented or studied.

The Exception

In rare cases, testicle transplants have been performed, but these are extremely unusual and typically done in specific circumstances, such as for identical twins where the genetic match reduces the risk of rejection. However, these cases are exceptions and not the norm.

If Money Is Why You're Here

Legal Ways People Actually Get Paid

A lot of people find this page because money is tight, not because they are curious. If that is you, these three are real, legal, and available right now — with honest numbers, including the parts the recruitment ads leave out.

$100–$300

Sperm donation

Per qualifying donation at major US sperm banks. Accepted donors giving once or twice a week can earn several hundred dollars a month. Federal organ law does not touch this — sperm, eggs, and plasma sit outside it.

The catch: screening runs two to three months, banks typically ask for a nine to twelve month commitment, and most applicants are turned down.

$3,070

Paid clinical trials

Median earned per trial by healthy volunteers in the largest published study of Phase I pay, across 1,001 US trials. The median across a full year was $4,000. This is the category the $35,000 story actually belonged to.

The catch: pay is rarely listed in the registry — it comes out during informed consent at the site. Search ClinicalTrials.gov

$30–$70

Plasma donation

Per visit at most centers, with new-donor bonuses that can run substantially higher for the first month. Federal rules cap you at two donations in any seven-day period.

The catch: rates change often and vary by region, and researchers have noted the long-term effects of donating twice a week are not well studied.

If the pressure is medical rather than general — you are facing treatment costs, or you are out of work because of a diagnosis — that is a different problem with different help. Hospital social workers, oncology financial navigators, and cancer patient assistance programs exist specifically for it, and they are free to ask. Start with the social work department at wherever you are being treated.

Compensation figures are ranges reported as of 2026 and vary by program, region, and eligibility. Nothing here is medical or financial advice.

The Anatomy

What Is a Testicle?

A testicle, or testis, is one of two oval organs that sit inside the scrotum, below the penis. Together they are the male reproductive system's two production sites: they make sperm and they make testosterone, the hormone responsible for the changes of puberty, muscle and bone mass, red blood cell production, and sex drive.

Each testicle is roughly the size of a small plum and is packed with tightly coiled seminiferous tubules where sperm is produced. Between those tubules sit the Leydig cells, which make testosterone and release it into the bloodstream. Sperm leaves each testicle through the epididymis, a coiled tube along the back of it, and then travels up the spermatic cord — the bundle of blood vessels, nerves, and the vas deferens that connects each testicle to the rest of the body.

They sit outside the body for a reason: sperm production needs a temperature a few degrees below core body temperature. It is also completely normal for one to hang slightly lower than the other, and for one to be a little larger. What is not normal is a hard lump, a change in size or firmness, or a heavy, aching feeling that does not go away — those are worth getting checked.

Also called Testis (plural testes), gonad
Typical adult size About 4 to 5 cm long, 2 to 3 cm wide
What it produces Sperm and testosterone
If one is removed One healthy testicle is usually enough to maintain normal hormone levels and fertility

After Surgery

What Happens to a Testicle Removed During an Orchiectomy?

This is the version of the question that actually has a real answer, and it is the one a lot of people are looking for. When testicular cancer is suspected, the standard first step is a radical inguinal orchiectomy: the surgeon removes the affected testicle along with the spermatic cord through an incision in the groin rather than through the scrotum. It is treatment and diagnosis at the same time.

The removed testicle does not go to another patient, to a buyer, or to a tissue market. It goes to a pathologist. It is sectioned and examined under a microscope to confirm whether cancer is present, identify the type — seminoma or non-seminoma, which are treated differently — and determine how far the tumor has grown into surrounding structures. That report, read alongside blood tumor markers and imaging, is what determines the stage and what happens next. There is no substitute for it, which is why the testicle is removed before it is biopsied rather than after.

Once the pathology work is finished, the remaining tissue is handled as surgical specimen under the hospital's own policy. Some hospitals and cancer centers offer patients the option to consent to having leftover tissue used for research. That is genuinely valuable — testicular cancer research runs on donated tumor tissue — but it is a donation. No one is paid for it.

What about a replacement?

A testicular prosthesis, a saline-filled implant matched to the remaining side, is available to anyone who wants one. It can be placed during the same operation or in a separate procedure later, and plenty of men choose to skip it entirely. It is cosmetic: it does not produce hormones or sperm. Bring it up before surgery if you think you want one, because having it placed at the same time avoids a second operation.

If You Are Facing This Surgery

We have a full guide to what recovery actually looks like — pain, timelines, what to expect week by week. Read Orchiectomy Pain & Recovery, or start with our Testicular Cancer Surgery Guide. If fertility is on your mind, read about fertility after cancer before treatment begins, not after.

Straight Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

The short versions, for the questions people actually type into a search bar at two in the morning.

  • How much is a testicle worth?

    Nothing, in the sense people mean. There is no legal market for human testicles in the United States, so there is no price. No hospital, university, tissue bank, or research program buys them. The $35,000 figure repeated online was never paid to anyone.

  • How much can you sell a testicle for?

    You cannot sell one at all. Selling a human organ for transplant is a federal felony under the National Organ Transplant Act, carrying up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. There is also no buyer to sell to, which makes the legal question mostly academic.

  • Can you really get $35,000 for a testicle?

    No. The number comes from a 2013 reality television episode in which a paid clinical trial volunteer described a study that would remove a healthy testicle and replace it with an artificial implant. He was disqualified during screening, the study was postponed indefinitely, and he was never paid. Snopes has rated the claim false.

  • Is it spelled testicle or testical?

    Testicle is the correct spelling. Testical is one of the most common misspellings of it and turns up in search constantly. The answer does not change either way: how much is a testical worth is the same question as how much is a testicle worth, and there is no legal market, no buyer, and no price.

  • Does anyone buy testicles for medical research?

    No. Research institutions do use human tissue, including testicular tissue removed during surgery, but it is donated with the patient's consent. It is not purchased from the person it came from, and there is no program that will pay you to give up a healthy one.

  • Can I donate a testicle to someone who needs one?

    There is no program to donate one to. Only about three testicle transplants have ever been performed, all between identical twins, because a transplanted testicle keeps producing the donor's sperm rather than the recipient's. There is no registry, no waiting list, and no procurement system.

  • How much does it cost to have a testicle removed?

    That depends on your insurance, your hospital, and where you live, so no single figure is meaningful. If you are facing an orchiectomy and cost is a real obstacle, ask the hospital's financial counselor or social work department about assistance programs before the surgery rather than after.

  • What happens to a testicle after it is removed?

    It goes to a pathologist, who examines it to confirm whether cancer is present, identify the type, and determine how far the tumor has grown. That report is what drives staging and treatment. It is not transplanted, sold, or given to another patient.

  • Is there a legal way to get paid that involves my body?

    Yes, several. Sperm donation, paid clinical trials, and plasma donation are all legal and all compensated, and none of them fall under the organ sale ban. The realistic numbers, and the catches, are further up this page.

What Actually Matters

You Came Here to Find Out What a Testicle Is Worth

Here is the answer that actually matters: yours is worth two minutes a month. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged 15 to 44, and it is one of the most curable cancers there is — if it is caught early. The thing that catches it early is a self-exam you can do in the shower.

Learn Self-Exam

Early detection is everything. Learn how to perform a monthly testicular self-exam—it takes 2 minutes and could save your life.

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