ENG 106 Definition Essay – Organ Sales Are a Good Thing
Organ Sales Are a Good Thing
According to the Health Resources and Services Administration (2015), nearly 119,000 patients are on the organ transplant list in the United States alone. Organs are in high demand all over the world, but organ sales are illegal almost everywhere. The only country that has not banned organ sales is Iran. In the United States, the National Organ Transplant Act was enforced in 1984, banning the buying and selling of human organs because it was seen as exploitative (Mayes, 2003). The topic has always been an ongoing debate. Because organ sales are illegal, desperate patients turn to the black market in order to get the organs they need. The black market is a place where serious crime can happen, such as organ trafficking, organ harvesting, and theft. People will lie and cheat others to make a profit. For example, one case that took place in the United States was about a man named Levy Rosenbaum who made money from buying organs from people in Israel for a few thousand dollars and selling them in the United States to patients for hundreds of thousands of dollars (Porter and Johnson, 2009). If it were legal to buy and sell organs, the black market would no longer be needed, and the crime would be greatly reduced. Also, the number of organ donors would increase due to being compensated, therefore providing more organs for patients in need. Organ sales should be legal in the United States because it could save thousands of lives, encourage more donors, and reduce the existing black market for organs. ENG 106 Definition Essay – Organ Sales Are a Good Thing.
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Patients all over the world are waiting to be matched with the organs that they need, but the lack of usable organs is a major problem. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (n.d.), there is a new patient added to the organ transplant waiting list every 10 minutes. The number of people on the list is increasing every day, and there are not enough donors to save all of those lives. Even with the increasing list, there are patients out there that are denied a spot on the list. Doctors can choose to not put people on the organ transplant list because of how badly their condition is and how much time they have to live. Many people do not live long enough for their turn to receive a transplant organ ENG 106 Definition Essay – Organ Sales Are a Good Thing. Legalizing organ sales could help to replenish the shortage of transplant organs available today, shortening the long wait and saving tons of lives. Patients on the list could be matched faster and more patients could be added because the wait will not be as long. Faster transplants could also result in shorter hospital stays and lower medical costs. As for the opposing side to the argument, they may contend that legalizing organ sales would be more harmful than helpful (Wilkinson, 2015). In reality, organ sales could make a change for the better. With a well regulated system for organ sales, patients in need would be provided organs and donors would be compensated. A well regulated system could make buying and selling organs much safer and efficient. For example, all sales could go to the National Health Service and then be distributed to patient matches (Erin and Harris, 2003). This way, sales would not be direct and fair. Not only could organ sales save patients’ lives by providing more legal transplants, it could also save many lives of those whom turn to the black market for illegal transplants. Resorting to illegal transplants can be risky for many reasons. There could be risk of infection, acquiring diseases or viruses, complications, and having no aftercare. With organ sales, patients would no longer need to go through that ENG 106 Definition Essay – Organ Sales Are a Good Thing. Organs could be purchased and transplanted in good timing.
Compensation for donations will attract and encourage more donors. With a safe, regulated system for organ sales and compensation for donors, the number of available organs should make a vast increase. Today, organ transplantation relies on altruism and the public to donate organs to those in need without being compensated in return (Bard, 2008) ENG 106 Definition Essay – Organ Sales Are a Good Thing. The reliance on altruism is the reason for the shortage of organs available for transplantation (Bard, 2008). People would feel more encouraged to donate if there were something in it for them, rather then only donating out of feeling altruistic. Many argue that if organ sales were legal, altruism would be reduced and donations would only be for the money. Who says one can’t feel altruistic and be compensated for donating part of their body at the same time? Some people may feel altruistic and never actually go through with donating. Those whom go through with it to help others and make profit are making the difference. After a legal organ transplant, the patient has an organ, the doctors and nurses get paid for doing the surgery, and the donor gets nothing in return. Voluntary donors should be compensated for giving up a piece of themselves to save another person, and for preventing them from turning to the dangerous black market.
The existing black market can be a very dangerous place. It is home to many criminals and gangs that will do anything to make money ENG 106 Definition Essay – Organ Sales Are a Good Thing. Like Levy Rosenbaum, criminals will buy and sell organs to make profit. Some criminals will even kidnap people, take their organs, and sell them to make money. The black market is known for scams and trouble, but those in desperate need for an organ transplant may feel it is the only option for survival. The list of patients in need of organs increases daily, and approximately 22 patients die each day waiting their turn (Health Resources & Services Administration, 2015). When Desperate patients turn to the black market for an organ transplant, they take many risks, including undergoing surgeries in places not affiliated with a hospital (Small-Jordan, 2016). In addition, the patients do not receive any following medical care or check ups making it even riskier. If organ sales were legal, patients could get the organs they need from honest donors, and in good timing. The surgeries could be performed legally, in clean hospitals, and aftercare would be provided. With this type of change, the black market for organs would become a thing of the past, crime would be greatly reduced, and patients would not feel the need to resort to risky, illegal surgeries ENG 106 Definition Essay – Organ Sales Are a Good Thing.
In conclusion, legalizing organ sales could make a remarkable difference in patients’ lives, donors’ lives, and the existing black market for organs. Organ sales could help provide more transplant organs for those in need and compensate the donors for their contributions. The compensation for donors would encourage more people to become donors and give their healthy organs to those in need. The black market for organs would no longer be needed, therefore reducing the number of scams and crimes that happen. Legalizing organ sales would make a great change. No one would need the black market for organs anymore, saving them from the trouble that happens there. Besides, if a $50,000 fine and a prison sentence is not stopping people from making organ sales on the black market today, then there is no point in having organ sales banned anyway (Small-Jordan, 2016). Organ sales can only help for the better ENG 106 Definition Essay – Organ Sales Are a Good Thing.
References
Bard, J. S. (2008). Black Markets: The Supply and Demand of Body Parts. Journal of Health Policy & Law, 33(1), 117-133. Retrieved from https://lopes-idm-oclc-org.library.gcu.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=29419413&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Erin, C. A., Harris, J. (2003). An Ethical Market in Human Organs. Journal of Medical Ethics. Retrieved from http://jme.bmj.com/content/29/3/137.full
Health Resources & Services Administration. (2015). Organ Donation Statistics. Retrieved from https://organdonor.gov/statistics-stories/statistics.html
Mayes, G. (2003). Buying and Selling Organs for Transplantation in the US: National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 (NOTA) Bans Buying and Selling. Retrieved from http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/465200_2
Porter, D., Johnson C. K. (2009). First Case of Organ Trafficking in U.S.? Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/32132371/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/first-case-organ-trafficking-us/#.WG2c47YrLR0
Small-Jordan, D. (2016). Organ Harvesting, Human Trafficking, and the Black Market. Retrieved from https://www.decodedscience.org/organ-harvesting-human-trafficking-black-market/56966
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (n.d.) Organ Procurement and Transplant Network. Retrieved from https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/
Wilkinson, S. (2015). The Sale of Human Organs. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/organs-sale/#pagetopright ENG 106 Definition Essay – Organ Sales Are a Good Thing