Demand and Supply Essay

My grandfather was a lucky one, though he had to wait 5 years until his luck was fully granted. He was diagnosed with sever kidney failure, spent 5 years on dialysis, then was blessed with the option of getting a kidney… twice. Though the first time he had to reject because of the health of his wife-after her death, he was called once more with the option of having a kidney transplant. However, my grandfather is an exception, most people do not get called once, let alone twice, for the option of receiving a kidney. As of October 25th 2013, about 100,000 people were waiting for a new kidney in the United States. (SCU) Every day, 18 people from that list die along with 10 others being added. As of October 25th, 2013, out of the 100,000 people waiting for a new kidney while only about 10,000 received one; that means 90,000 people are either rolled over to the next year, or die waiting. The marvelousness of kidney donations, compared to other organs donations, is that each person is born with two and can sustain a healthy life with just one; simple facts such as this is what has driven the black market kidney trade to flourish. (CBSNEWS) However, if this is the case then why aren’t more people donating? Is it because they are not getting something in return? Why donate for free when someone on the black market will pay 10,000 dollars? The main arguments against black market organ donations, not limited to kidneys, is that people do not know the risks- yet if someone is

Thousands of people in the United States are dying each year because of a failed kidney, and have no chance to receive one. In “Organ Sales Will Save Lives” by MIT student, Joanna MacKay argues against banning the sale of organs, but instead recommends legalizing and regulating the trade of human organs in order to try and save people’s lives. MacKay reports that in America alone, approximately 350,000 people struggle each year with kidney failure. Since there is no cure, and buying kidneys is currently illegal, this leads the person to search for other options that usually result in purchasing organs on the black market. MacKay states that a black market purchase allows the recipient to buy a fresh, healthy organ from a living donor without the agonizing process of waiting on a list (157-158). MacKay believes that both the recipient and donor would benefit in the legalization and regulation process and if this comes to pass, more organs would be made available for transplant and many people would get the chance to live another day.

The demand for organ donors far exceeds the supply of available organs. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) … there are more than 77,000 people in the U.S. who are waiting to receive an organ (Organ Selling 1). The article goes on to say that the majority of those on the national organ transplant waiting list are in need of kidneys, an overwhelming 50,000 people. Although financial gain in the U.S and in most countries is illegal, by legalizing and structuring a scale for organ donor monetary payment, the shortage of available donors could be reduced. Legalizing this controversial issue will help with the projected forecast for a decrease in the number of people on the waiting list, the ethical concerns around benefitting from organ donation, and to include compensation for the organ donor.

If the selling of organs becomes legal. Who is to say that the donor will not be tempted to sell the organs just because they are in need of money, and lack the understanding of the risks that are involved, such as kidney failure and various renal disorders that could occur? One could easily make a life changing decision under, stressful conditions, especially if that person has high debt or if that person feels that, that is their last hope. Many choices can affect their decision; however each person truly needs to understand the “why” and the effects of donor donation and not just become swayed because of the deposit of monetary funds. A physician who donated his organs at the age of eighteen went on to regret it after doing research and he

Before being paid was brought up in this survey, people were a lot more willing to donate to people they knew. When talking about donating organs those people who were willing to do donate were sixty-eight percent to people they didn’t know according to the survey taken by Ariana Eunjung Cha (Washington Post). Twenty-three percent more said that they would donate to family and friends, and nine percent said they would not donate at all. Then surveyors were asked to consider doing the same thing but in addition to fifty thousand dollars in compensation. Sixty-three percent said that the payment would make then even more likely to do it, and those willing to donate to only friends and family sixty percent of them said they would be more willing to donate. Out of the original nine percent who said they wouldn’t donate, twenty-six percent of the nine percent changed their mind and said they would reconsider because of the money. With these results, researchers said, “Thus payment motivated more US voters to positively consider donor nephrectomy rather than to reject the notion of donating a kidney” (Washingtonpost.com). In this case you can see the proof of these numbers, that more people will be willing to help complete strangers be able to live if they get compensated. Organ transplants do take place today in the world but, the donor gets the organ, the doctor gets paid, but

In the article “Kidneys for Sale: A Reconsideration,” the author, Miriam Schulman raises the notoriously controversial issue regarding organ sale. He describes the main ideas from both the supporting and the opposing side to give readers a wider view about organ sales.

To further commend her argument, Satel analyzed the short term amd long term risks an organ donor faces and to a reasonably fact, “The truth is that a normal person can get along perfectly well with one kidney. The risk a donor runs is that his single functioning kidney will become deceased or injured and he’ll need a transplant himself—a highly unlikely event” (Satel 451).

Supply and demand lies in the heart and soul of economics. The concept is perhaps the single most driving force in an economy, specifically a capitalist economy. Supply and demand is based on two concepts: The law of demand and the law of supply. The law of demand states that the demand of a product rises as its price falls, therefore the demand of a product falls as its price rises. A good example of this occurs in grocery stores. If the price of a case of Coca-cola drops from $6.99 to $2.99 the demand for the product will rise because more people are willing to pay $2.99 rather than $6.99. Not only will typical consumer of Coca-cola purchase more but consumers who are not normally willing to pay $6.99 will make the purchase. Substitution also plays a role in the equation. Substitution occurs when consumers substitute one good for another based on price levels. In the Coca-cola scenario, some Pepsi drinkers will purchase the Coca-cola given the case of Pepsi is price higher.

Since the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 prevents a monetary price from being placed on a donated organ, effective allocation mechanisms must be utilized. Allocation mechanisms must be accessed because the shortage of supply compared to the demand. In any market, allocation mechanisms rely on many factors but some include friendships, “under the table” payments, predicted profit, and personal biases.

In the essay " Kidneys for Sale: A Reconsideration" by Miriam Schulman, kidneys are fair in our lives. The writer talks with important things in our lives related to our organs specificly kidneys. Everyday almost 17 people die when they wait for a suitable organ. In 2011, in United States, kidney transplants were about 15,417. They had a healthy way to transplant kidneys to other people. As they got it tested wheather if they can accept it or not. After transplangt there has been seen no harm. Ninty percent of people got kidneys from a living- donor and 82 % of people from died-donor. When they get it from poor people, they remain still alive at least five years. Actually the poor people sell their kidneys.

“The economically disadvantaged have been shown to be less likely to be organ transplant candidates, financial incentives for organ donation could be characterized as exploitation.” Satel contests this policy in ‘Yuan a Kidney?’ by saying “Government sponsored compensation of healthy individuals who are willing to give one of their kidneys to save the life of a stranger is the best solution”. According to the 2012 National Survey of Organ Donation Attitudes and Behaviors “25.4% of the population reported that a financial incentive would increase their likelihood to donate their own organs”(Statistics, Web. 2012). Not all of which were “economically

Supply and demand is a fundamental element of economics; it is the main support system of a market economy. Demand can be interpreted by the quantity of a product or service a consumer is desired to acquire at a given time period. Quantity demanded is the amount of product consumers are willing to purchase at a given price; the relationship between price and quantity demanded is commonly known as the demand relationship. Supply however, accounts for how much a market produces for consumers. The quantity supplied refers to the actual amount of a certain good firms are willing to supply to consumers when receiving a certain price. Having limited resources we all have to

The market price of a good is determined by both the supply and demand for it. In the world today supply and demand is perhaps one of the most fundamental principles that exists for economics and the backbone of a market economy. Supply is represented by how much the market can offer. The quantity supplied refers to the amount of a certain good that producers are willing to supply for a certain demand price. What determines this interconnection is how much of a good or service is supplied to the market or otherwise known as the supply relationship or supply schedule which is graphically represented by the supply curve. In demand the schedule is depicted graphically as the demand curve which represents the

Understanding the fundamental concepts of economics allows us to analyze laws that have a direct bearing on the economy. These laws and theories are essentially the backbone of how economics is used and studied. The law of demand can be expressed by stating that as long as all other factors remain constant, as prices rise, the quantity of demand for that product falls. Conversely, as the price falls, the quantity of demand for that product rises (Colander, 2006, p 91). Price is the tool used that controls how much consumers want based on how much they demand. At any given price a certain quantity of a product is demanded by consumers. As the price decreases, the quantity of the products demanded will increase. This indicates that more individuals demand the good or service as the price is lowered. This can be illustrated using the demand curve. The demand curve is a downward sloping line that illustrates the inversely related relationship of price and quantity demanded.

They conclude that “research shows that the underlying motivation of most paid kidney donors is poverty” and that “paid kidney donation is associated with depression, regret, and discrimination” (The State of the International Organ Trade, 2007). In other words, throwing money at the poor in exchange for their organs will not get them out of poverty. Offering a financial incentive program for organ donation will allow the rich to exploit the poor and deprive the poor from life-saving donation. The demand for organs will likely remain higher than the supply; therefore, prices for organs will become competitive and eliminate the chance for the poor to receive a transplant. Implementing financial compensation would only serve to shift the demographic of organ recipients away from those with the greatest need to those with the greatest wealth.