Allocation Of Scarce Resources : Donor Organs

Every day some dies after waiting years on a transplant list. The National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 says that in the United States, the sale of organs is illegal. Some believe this act may be preventing thousands of people from getting the organs that will save their lives. The truth is every day someone dies and their organs could be used to help others and everyday a life of one and the livelihood of another could be saved. The reasons for allowing the sale of organs is very simple to understand. It can help others financially, save money on medical expenses and most importantly, save lives. Critiques believe this would be a mistake causing spur of the moment decisions, and illegal obtain these organs for sale. With the use of regulation, these doubts can be laid to rest. Before the problem can be solved, the problem has to be identified.

The need of human organs for transplantation increases every single day and every passing month. Thousands of people are on the waiting list hoping for a chance at a new life. Unfortunately, the supply of available organs through organ donations is not able to provide for the growing demand of organs. According to a research conducted by the Hasting Center, “there are close to 100,000 people on the waiting list for a kidney, heart, liver, lung, and intestines, the pressure to find ways to increase their supply is enormous (Capland, 2014, p. 214). The shortage of human organs is leading people to participate in unethical acts. The pressure of finding available organs has resulted in healthcare professional and

Dying painfully in a hospital bed is not the way anyone wants to go. Unfortunately for many people, it is a reality. Thousands of people a year end up dying while waiting for an organ that could save their lives. While on the other side of the world, thousands of people die a year, but from infection when an organ is forcefully taken from them to sell on the black market. There are two sides of the organ donation list, and both can end in death. This paper will discuss the shortage of donated organs and the issues with the current donation system. It will also discuss the black market for transplant organs and possible solutions to viable organ shortage. The focus of this paper will be on transplant kidneys as they are the most desirable organ for buyers and sellers.

More than 110,000 people are on waiting lists for organs they may not ever get in time (mantel). This has caused an organ black market in which people are trading their or other individuals’ organs for illegal money. In case making criminals out of normal people. In 2009, the FBI arrested a Brooklyn rabbi for illegal organ trade, he was buying organs from overseas for a mere ten thousand dollars and selling here in the black market for upwards of one hundred sixty thousand (Krauthammer). An organ trade of some sort needs to become legal and people need chances to be compensated for their organs. Also with the market becoming legal, patients will be in better hands pre-operation and post-operation.

122,542. That is the current amount of names on the national organ transplant list. Only about 6% of those people will actually go through a lifesaving organ transplantation within the next year (Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, 2015) due to the short supply of organ donations. Every ten minutes, another person is placed on the waiting list, and every day 22 people on that list die before they ever receive a new organ (Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, 2015). As a result, there is a very intense demand for human organs, but too little people are willing to donate them. The shortage of organs for transplant caused the emergence of organ trafficking which favors a wealthy minority of individuals and exploits the poor

The need for organ donations creates another ethical dilemma for Emergency Room Physicians. “Obtaining organs from emergency room patients has long been considered off-limits in the United States because of ethical and logistical concerns” (Stein, 2010). The shortage of organs available for transplant has caused many patients die while waiting. A pilot project from the federal government “has begun promoting an alternative that involves surgeons taking organs, within minutes, from patients whose hearts have stopped beating but who have not been declared brain-dead” (Stein, 2010). “The Uniform Determination of Death Act

Organ transplantation is a term that most people are familiar with. When a person develops the need for a new organ either due to an accident or disease, they receive a transplant, right? No, that 's not always right. When a person needs a new organ, they usually face a long term struggle that they may never see the end of, at least while they are alive. The demand for transplant organs is a challenging problem that many people are working to solve. Countries all over the world face the organ shortage epidemic, and they all have different laws regarding what can be done to solve it. However, no country has been able to create a successful plan without causing moral and ethical dilemmas.

Thump, thump… thump, thump… thump, thump. That is the sound of Nature’s most perfect machine, the human heart. It epitomizes the idea of natural engineering through its complexity and contribution to the vessel that holds it. But, can it be synthesized by the species that possesses and depends upon it? With the emerging 3D printing technology in the field of regenerative medicine, the answer may very well be yes. However, a question to consider before humanity embarks on this endeavour: do the life-saving advantages outweigh the various disadvantages?

Imagine, waking up one morning a transplant patient in need of an organ, finding out that there was a law just passed that permitted a patient to purchase the needed organ legally. Fortunately, there are those in the medical community that believe that the legalization of organ sales, is the only way to alleviate the rapidly growing problem of the shortage of available organs needed for transplants. The fact that altruism the premise that the donor program was first established under, is not able to meet the serious issue of supply and demand, has forced the medical community to look for other remedies. Consider a campaign launched by the federal government (politicians) in conjunction with the medical community, drug, and insurance companies that would bring awareness to the general public that focused on the need to legalize the sales of live human organ donor sales. There is also another side to this debate, there are those that are adamantly opposed to this concept, they believe that legalization will create more problems than it will solve. What this essay will examine is the

Throughout history physicians have faced numerous ethical dilemmas and as medical knowledge and technology have increased so has the number of these dilemmas. Organ transplants are a subject that many individuals do not think about until they or a family member face the possibility of requiring one. Within clinical ethics the subject of organ transplants and the extent to which an individual should go to obtain one remains highly contentious. Should individuals be allowed to advertise or pay for organs? Society today allows those who can afford to pay for services the ability to obtain whatever they need or want while those who cannot afford to pay do without. By allowing individuals to shop for organs the medical profession’s ethical

The potential benefits of organ donation significantly outweigh proposed reasons for refusing to donate one’s organs. Though the reasons for rejecting organ donation are understandable, the overall effect on the biomass confirms such reasons to be selfish and unethical. Organs for transplantation must be harvested as soon after death as possible, in order to maintain viability. Relatives of the donor often find difficulty in accepting that their loved one’s body, “maintained in a semblance of life by artificial respiration, is in fact dead and will remain dead when the respirator is turned off” (Emson). One’s determination to donate organs is completely voluntary. Practically, that measured decision can be overturned by family members after the death of the individual, resulting in the primary cause of loss of donors (Thomas). “To the bereaved family, an organ is a remaining part of the beloved deceased person. […] To the deceased, it is something that has been a vital component of the person but is no longer needed. [But] To the potential recipient of its donated organs, it is the very new hope for a restored life” (Emson). However, with each selfish refusal of organ donation, fifty Americans are denied the chance

A controversial and prominent issue in the United States consists of organ transplants. Even though the waiting list currently has 115,000 transplant candidates, this number does not reflect the dire need for organ donors. A valid option the President’s Commission on Bioethics (PCB) should take into consideration consists of regulating an organ market. Currently, organ donors do not receive compensation for their time, effort, and overall donation of their organ. The United States should regulate the opportunity for people to buy and sell organs in a safe and legal environment. This method should be adopted because it is ethically acceptable. The buying and selling of organs respects the autonomy of donors, provides societal beneficence by potentially saving the lives of others, and goes hand-in-hand with the principle of nonmaleficence.

One of the most significant issues concerning organ transplantation revolves around the just and fair distribution of organs. Due to the assorted and occasionally conflicting opinions of what constitutes as ‘fair’, in concurrence with a relative shortage of donated organs, many social, legal and ethical contentions have arisen. This shortage is portrayed by statistics shown on the NHS organ donation page, where approximately 10,000 people are on the waiting list for a solid organ transplant and approximately 1,000 people die annually whilst waiting for an organ transplant and in 2013, a record 4,655 patients received a solid organ transplant (National Health Service, 2014).

The majority of the people realize that there is a huge imbalance between the need of organs and the availability of suitable donor organs because there over 100,000 people on the waiting list according to the world health organization. On average, one person is added to the list every 10 minutes and 21 people die every day from not getting the transplant in time. Over the lack of not having enough organs for everyone it starts leading to problems. One of the most talked about ethical problem is the unjust and unfair system. The truth is everyone has equal access and benefits. Patients can actually even multi list. Multi-Listing is the process of enrolling at more than one transplant center. However, there are a few things that play a part in helping you receive a transplant organ, for example: Geography, right sized organ, and preservation time. There are 11 regions with 58 local donor service areas in the United States, they use a donor radius rather than the regions because some organs have less time to be transplanted. “Proper organ size is critical to a successful transplant, which means that children often respond better to child-sized organs. Although pediatric candidates have their own unique scoring system, children essentially are first in line for other children's organs.” (optn.transplant.hrsa.gov) Another ethical issue involves artificial organs. Questions that are

In February 2003, 17-year-old Jesica Santillan received a heart-lung transplant at Duke University Hospital that went badly awry because, by mistake, doctors used donor organs from a patient with a different blood type. The botched operation and subsequent unsuccessful retransplant opened a discussion in the media, in internet chat rooms, and in ethicists' circles regarding how we, in the United States, allocate the scarce commodity of organs for transplant. How do we go about allocating a future for people who will die without a transplant? How do we go about denying it? When so many are waiting for their shot at a life worth living, is it fair to grant multiple organs or multiple