Organ Donation Is An Act

“It is within my power to drastically change his circumstances, but I do not want to give that man a gift if he does not deserve it.” (Smith, 2008) In the movie seven pounds, the actor, made the choice to sacrifice his organs for the good, he felt that he had nothing else to live for, so instead he would give life to someone else who rightfully deserved it. For years, humans have voluntarily donated their organs to caring and loving individuals. They donated freely and without compensation they gave and expected nothing in return. Now, we have individuals who desire to impose upon this freedom, by offering the exchange of organs for money. The selling of organs for monetary value is wrong, it increases the amount of organ trafficking within the black market, it does not create a just weight for those with lower amounts of income, and it is not safe, many people will place their lives at risk all for just a dime.

Nicky Santos, S.J., a visiting scholar at the Ethic Center, claims that people who are desperate often make decisions that are not the most beneficial for themselves, which then results in the rich having the privilege of excellent health care while the poor do not. There is also the “do no harm” rule in bioethics that forbid procedures that might harm donors. The question lies in whether we can make sure that donors’ health won’t be jeopardized in the transaction. On the contrary, some might say that not giving donors incentives actually put their health to more risk since no incentives have been given to pay for their medical bill in case the donors are harmed. There has also been debates about whether organ donation should remain as an act of altruism or should we instead move along to justice. While some might value such humanity and hate the idea of it being

Imagine desperately needing a kidney to continue to live your life without dialysis. The only thing standing in your way is over one hundred thousand dollars. Only the wealthy elite can afford that amount. Fortunately, many people are signed up to be organ donors in the case of their untimely death or are even willing to donate an organ while they are still alive. Legal organ sales would favor the wealthy and prevent the poor from receiving life-saving care.

Many people’s lives come to an end earlier than expected. When this happens, families mourn the loss of the loved one. However, do people mourn the loss of another life if the individual is not an organ donor? The National Kidney Foundation believes that “legalizing payments of human organs” should continue to be opposed, as codified in the third title of the National Organ Transplant Act. (220). If this title is changed, then there will be multiple unexpected side effects that could corrupt the system of organ donation to people who need the organs. What exactly would define the price of saving a life? Who is paying the cost of the organ? Many things could backlash from the beginning of financially compensating people for their organs. This specific concept subtly generates monetary issues between the donor and the receiver of the organ, takes advantage of the poor, increases funeral costs, creates problems with trading organs, is inconsistent in moral values, and increases an untrust of health care. Thus, financial compensation for organs should be banned.

Organ donation is a significantly selfless way to give back to the world, making a huge difference in a someone's life and giving them a second chance at prolonging their lives. People should be educated on the shortages there are for donations globally, they should also be aware of how many people can be impacted by this process. The donation of organs is not only an important decision to make for yourself, but it gives an opportunity to help save a life and create a second chance for others. Mutually, understanding why a person should donate will bring them closer helping others, specifically due to the lack of availability and the growing cause for organ donation. The core to understanding the background, the need for donations, the composition of donations, the importance and impact personally, and also the opposition of organ donation are key for the group that may not be primarily drawn to this type of service.

As of August 2017 about  116,000 men, women and children are added to the National Transplant waiting list. A list that gets longer every ten minutes but quickly balances out due to the twenty, daily, lost lives.. Organ sales has the potential to increase an individual's life span yet it is amongst some of the more popular topic in ethical discussions that exhibit a polarized debate with no compromising solutions. However Anthony Gregory’s,  “Why Legalizing Organ Sales Would Help Save Lives, End Violence” arranges a well exhibited persuasive argument through the support of ethos, logos, and pathos when showcasing the importance and urgency of  allowing someone another day past their life expectancy.

Organ donation is one of the most impactful decisions one can make to directly improve another’s life. In the United States, the donor or his or her family make this decision and leave it in the hands of doctors and trained teams to make sure the organs go to those who are well deserving and need them most. The responsibility of the transplant and faith is put into the current system, which should allow for fair distribution of organs. This, however, is not always the case and a possible change to the system has triggered an ethical dilemma involving several stakeholders.

The United States government website organdonor.gov gives information on the organ donation and transplantation. According to the website, there is an increase in demand than supply of organs for donation. Organs donated include kidney, liver, heart, pancreases, bone marrow, bones, and skins. Typically, most donations occur after the death of a person. However, a living donor can donate organs such as the kidney, part of lungs, fraction of intestines or component of the liver. As per the government website, statistics show more than 116,000 people await transplants as per August 2017 (Services). Of this number, at least 20 people die daily awaiting transplants. What is disheartening is, for every ten minutes, there is an addition of one person to the waiting list. Nevertheless, of the 95% United States adults supporting organ donation, only 54% of these adults signed up as donors. The improvement of this percentage is through changing the moral perception on organ donation and introduction of compensation to donors. To illustrate the financial incentive issues and ethics involvement as far as organ donation is concerned, the paper will be divided into two. The first section will dwell on the monetary aspect surrounding organ donation. The second segment entails the moral question on organ donation and the conclusion.

Because organ donation gives people a second chance at life, organ donors have an impact on a recipient that lasts them the reminder of their lives. Without even knowing it, people can save the lives of many. The organs of one person can grant the gift of life up to fifty people with one organ and their tissue (Senk, 2004). Due to the anonymity of organ donation, donors will not have the chance to see how the people who receive the organs live out the rest of their life. However, the family of the donor will have a sense of

At the age of two, a young boy named Jason became seriously ill from a heart condition. With the many hospital visits and meetings with doctors, Jason’s family knew he would need a new heart, but they also knew it would not be easy to attain. After being on the transplant waiting list for more than a year, Jason finally received a heart at the age of five. Jason’s parents were ecstatic stating, “The new heart not only gave our son a chance to live, it changed our lives forever” (OneLegacy, 2017). With the help of a giving donor, Jason was given a second chance at life, something many individuals in his situation do not get. The gap between organs needed and organs being donated is alarmingly huge in today’s society. Organ donation is a big issue and there is not just one way to solve it. To some, the problem can be solved by simply thinking morally and choosing to help those around you. To others, the problem lies within the care from medical staff. In order to get these issues across, Snyder, Van Assche et al., and Kluge, authors of pieces within the ethical discipline use anecdotal evidence to persuade an audience to think morally about organ donation. In contrast, Berntzen & Bjørke and Jacoby et al., authors of articles within the psychology discipline, use testimonial evidence to express to the audience that an issue with the organ donation process comes from the treatment of patients from medical staff. Both disciplines acknowledge organ donation as an issue, but using

Millions of people all over the world die each year due to organ failure; however, doctors have found a way to remedy this issue through organ donation, a process in which a person gives up a working organ for a patient in need. A few of the most common transplants performed are kidneys, livers, and lungs; donors may include both the living and the deceased. This process requires major, extensive testing and long periods of searching for organ matches. Medical professionals and ordinary citizens from all over the world argue whether people should receive a financial compensation for the donation of organs. Some people believe the donation process should be done simply because of moral values, while others feel organ donation should be rewarded in some form. Meanwhile, many people are dying due to a lack of available organs as this issue is being disputed. Because organ donation has become such a dire issue in the medical world, society has to institute a new method of saving lives.

The common emergency room in the United States constantly has a bustle of patients and family members, ranging from a child with a broken arm to a team of doctors and nurses attempting to race the clock as they desperately try to save a young woman’s life. Zoom in on the latter room and you will witness the rush as doctors try to stop the bleeding and nurses work vigorously to resupply the patient’s lungs with desperately needed oxygen. An hour passes, and although the ventilator still pumps air through the woman’s lungs as her heart faintly beats, she is declared brain dead. Her parents standing in the waiting room are approached by a doctor, who kindly breaks the news and walks away, hearing the sobs of these grieving parents fade into the background. Later, that same doctor comes to ask the family a possibly unthinkable question: would you consider giving consent for organ donation? The mother starts to cry again as the father thinks about their options and what they could do in this impossible situation. This became a reality for Linda and Michael Maiellano when their daughter, Katie was in a car accident in 2006 that left her brain dead and in critical condition. While Katie’s parents thought about organ donation, a young man only a few miles away was eagerly awaiting a new kidney and pancreas as they were his last hope of survival. Uncontrollable diabetes had left Gregory Kraus in a dire medical state with vision problems, nerve damage in his legs, and eventual kidney

Each article discusses the need for more organs to be donated and how this relates to ethics. Snyder’s article “Easy Rescues and Organ Transplantation”, is about the moral views humans should have when it comes to organ donation and transplantation. Snyder believes that donating organs is an easy rescue or something that can be done without causing harm to oneself and therefore, we should all become organ donors. Van

Organ donation is when a person authorizes an organ or any biological tissue of the human body to be surgically remove while the donor is still alive or after death. Organs and tissues that are transplantable will be removed in a surgical procedure and will be determine if they are suitable and can be used for transplantation. An organ transplantation is a surgical procedure in which an organ is removed from the donor’s body and placed in the recipient’s body. Organ donor is someone who is giving an organ or tissue to the recipient who is in need of a transplant while the beneficiary of the organ that will be donated from the organ donor is called the recipient. There are two kinds of organ donation: living donation and deceased donation. Living donation is when the organ donor is still alive while deceased donation is when the donation takes place after death.

Lately have you been suffering because of something that you were either born with or can’t help? As of June of 2012 there were 126,681 patients suffering waiting for that one special person to donate their organs or organ to them so that there life can be changed and they can then live their lives to the fullest. That person whose life was changed forever, may have been waiting for that organ for months, or even year after year, for that one special phone call. You could be the next person to change someones life forever and ever. Organ donation is not only a self-fulfilling act of kindness, but if more people were to donate it’s effect it would have on others lives will have them ever grateful.