Healthcare Business: The Legality of Introducing a New Structure for Organ Donation

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.

There are a lot of people in this world that are going through organ failure. The National Kidney Foundation even found, “Every fourteen minutes someone is added to the kidney transplant list”. Statistically speaking, that is a great deal of people in need of a vital organ. The author Joanna MacKay talks about the need for organ donations in her article “Organ Sales Will Save Lives”. MacKay disputes her case briefly when stating her thesis in the first paragraph. She gives the audience her opinion on how the selling of organs should be built to become legal. Throughout the text she touches on the black market selling of kidneys. She also incorporates how other third world countries have allowed this practice of organ sales. The article includes her insight on what would happen if organ sales would be legalized and how it would be regulated.

It was only a matter of time before a businessman in Virginia saw a way to profit from the success of transplantation. In 1983 H. Barry Jacobs announced the opening of a new exchange through which competent adults could buy and sell organs. His failing was in his decision to use needy immigrants as the source of the organs (Pence 36). As a result Congress, passed the National Organ Transplant Act (Public Law 98-507) in 1984, which prohibited the sale of human organs and violators would be subjected to fines and imprisonment (“Donation Details”).

The debate has raged on for some time now concerning the ethical issues surrounding the trade in human organs. In the US, the sale of human organs for any economical or other benefits is prohibited. However, this law has done little to stop the trade in human organs. There are a number of fundamental issues that the National Organ Transplant Act seems to have ignored. Banning of the trade in human organs has opened up channels that have enabled the black market for human organs to flourish. According to the World Health Organization,

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.

Selling organs is a rising problem in the healthcare community, government and morality. Organ sales has become the topic of discussion for numerous reasons. Some of which being lowering the wait time on the organ transplant waitlist and taking advantage of the financially disadvantaged. This issue affects many people on many different levels, some people morally or legally but mostly importantly medically. What this basically comes down to is: “Who are we to judge what people do with their bodies?”. The answer to this question lays in many different sources. The simplified answer is no we can not tell people what they can and can not tell other people what they can and can ot do with their bodies.

In today’s medical field there is a profuse amount of room for ethical questioning concerning any procedure performed by a medical professional. According to the book Law & Ethics for Medical Careers, by Karen Judson and Carlene Harrison, ethics is defined as the standards of behavior, developed as a result of one’s concept of right and wrong (Judson, & Harrison, 2010). With that in mind, organ transplants for inmates has become a subject in which many people are asking questions as to whether it is morally right or wrong.

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.

Our topic is on organ transplant. We will focus on the process and ethical dilemmas surrounding it. Our group chose this topic because we care and understand that this can happen to our love ones. We want to raise our concern about this worldwide issue, and where the black market for organs come into play. The stakeholders include the people (donors or receivers), doctors, government, businesses, and experts. We will be focusing on the culture and the ethical issues that related to organ transplant, conflict of interests, ethics in the design phases, debt/ financing, and regulation. Since our topic is quite detailed, we will start with what is the precise definition of “brain death” in a heart beating body that is kept

I will begin my research by first examining the history of the kidney transplant system in order to develop an understanding of the context of the organ donation industry. I will then examine the multiple kidney transplant systems from a business perspective (supply chain) to determine the deficiencies of its system. In this particular segment of research, I will interview those closely affiliated with the kidney transplant system in order to round out my perspective. After, I will conduct an industry analysis on the organ donation industry. Soon after, I will determine and expand on the current and possible consequences of not fixing the kidney transplant system. In this particular section I will special mind to the ethics of this decision

Human organs have been transplanted for many years. There are currently 123,940 people waiting for an organ in order to get their transplant. Of that vast number, around 18 people die each day waiting for an organ (“Why Organ, Eye, and Tissue Donation?” n.d.). There has been some issues with human organ transplants whether it is ethical or not. Another view on transplantation is to create a market for organs. With the increasing number of people in search for an organ in order to save their life, the demand for human organs is on the rise. As with any economic and ethical debate there are two viewpoints on this issue. Proponents believe that it will eliminate the black market of human organ

Thousands of people face organ failure and life threatening diseases that would lead to the need for an organ transplant but the number of available organs is far below the overwhelming demand. This problem only increases every day as more people are added to the only available organ donation list-UNOS. Thus some controversy is bound to arise with thousands of victims suffering and waiting every day. Even though worldwide demand for organs would create a booming market, the sale of organs should not be encouraged because it would further the gap between social classes and increase crime in poor areas.

Over the last few decades the advances made in the fields of surgical technology have led to an increase in the number of people comfortable with having an organ transplant. Every year, thousands of people, from around the world, are being added to the waiting list to receive organs. Even though the number of people willingly to donate their organs has increased due to the constant campaigns made by government and NGO’s but it is not enough to meet the rising demand for human organs. This has created an urge to find an alternative that would make up for this downfall. John Harris and Charles proposed a “strictly regulated and highly ethical

Patients on a waiting list for organ transplant live under tremendous emotional stress, physical limitations, continuous medical care, and in some cases, under daily medical attention. Family members and close friend are also affected by watching their love one day-after-day live with limitations and medical needs that a simple pill can’t fix. Furthermore, the financial medical hardship creates even more unwanted stress. So it’s easy to see why family members would be advocates for legalizing the sale of an organ. I too can see why those family members would feel and agree to ideal of buying an organ from an individual who is willing to sell. However, I also understand the government’s ethical and moral

Surprisingly, nearly 10 percent of 10,000 English patients, who are on the waiting list for organs transplant, dies each year before they obtain an organ (Bates, 2011). While this number tends to rocket in not only England but also worldwide range, almost all the government still keep passing numerous policies to restrict the supply of transplant organs. Typically, they have long prohibited trafficking human organs regardless of proposals for reform. As a further work on this issue, the article “Sales of Kidneys Prompt New Law and Debate” from the book “Topics for Today” (Smith and Mare, 2004) continues providing an insight into the controversy over legalization of commercial transactions in human organs, specially, kidneys. In my opinion,