Surgery for Playoff Tix: Ethical?
Published by Haseeb October 7th, 2006 in Science/MedicineCraigslist Rules!
Ive gotten a TV, desk, and even my home off this website. Its a great website with so much to offer. Anyways, so I was going through our school message board for an ethics course, when i came across the following:
Wow. I know if i were in the doc’s position, I would probably do the same thing. But is it ethical? I would argue - Yes; why not? Instead of paying cash for the surgery (lasik surgery is a cosmetic procedure and not covered by most insurance companies), the surgeon is asking for something else in return. - In this case: Mets playoff tickets (which I believe is worth alot more than just some amount of money anyways!)
What do you all think?
Eye doctor sees way for tickets
BY JONATHAN LEMIRE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Dr. Emil Chynn’s got his eye on the ball — Mets’ postseason baseball, that is — and he’ll trade corrective surgery for tickets.
You won’t see this offer on eBay or StubHub: A Manhattan eye surgeon wants to buy your Mets playoff tickets, and he’s offering the gift of sight.
Or Botox, if better vision isn’t your thing.
Dr. Emil Chynn, 40, has posted an ad on craigslist.org offering either LASIK eye surgery or a Botox procedure in exchange for a chance to watch postseason baseball at Shea Stadium.
“Some people think it’s a strange thing to advertise, but it’s really just business,” said Chynn, who runs a clinic on W.14th St. “And I really do love the Mets.”
Chynn, an avid sports fan, came up with the idea of trading surgery for seats last summer when he was looking for World Cup soccer tickets.
“A man from France said he’d give me his tickets in exchange for a Botox procedure for his girlfriend back here in New York,” said Chynn.
“She hasn’t used the certificate yet,” he continued. “I wonder if she didn’t like the gift.”
Though a diehard Mets fan, Chynn was shut out in his efforts to purchase playoff tickets and decided to post an ad on craigslist instead of paying scalpers’ prices.
Chynn’s premise was simple: First, he would go online and determine what scalpers were getting for playoff tickets. Then he would pay the face value of the ticket in cash and make up the difference in certificates for surgical procedures.
Within a day, several people responded, including Micah Tucker, 25, of Great Neck, L.I., who is willing to swap his $75 National League Championship Series seats for a LASIK procedure for his longtime girlfriend.
“My first reaction was that Dr. Chynn might be a little crazy, but after visiting his Web site I thought, why not?” said Tucker, who was looking for furniture on craigslist when he stumbled upon the ad.
“It was not a very tough decision,” he continued. “I love going [to Mets games] but I thought this was a unique opportunity to do something for my girlfriend.”
In order for the deal to go through, of course, the Mets have to advance to the NLCS, but even if they falter, Tucker’s generosity was not lost on his girlfriend.
“I was really surprised he brought the idea to me,” said Jennifer Mazza, 24, who works at an acting school for children. “I know he does love going to baseball games.”
Originally published on October 5, 2006
I thnk the Mets are gay and the Yankees are a bunch of pussies.
Damn, you Mets fans are a bunch of freaks. This doc is a cheap chapta.
Unusual? Yes. Unethical? No, I don’t think so.
You can take payment in the form of dollars, or free dinners, or tickets. My dad’s pediatrician friend gave me free checkups as a kid, and we always bought the entire staff cookies from a bakery. Barter is barter, I guess.