Organ Donors Must Not be Paid Essay

There are diversified augments in favor of and against organ sales. I will focus on the arguments of Joanna MacKay from her essay “Organ Sales Will Save Lives” and R.R Kishore’s essay “Human Organs, Scarcities, and Sale: Morality Revisited”. MacKay argues in favor of organ trade legalization stating “government should not ban the sale of human organs; they should regulate it. Kishore argues against organ trade legalization stating “the integrity of the human body should never be subject to trade”.

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

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

'Proponents of financial incentives for organ donation assert that a demonstration project is necessary to confirm or refute the types of concerns mentioned above. The American Medical Association, the United Network for Organ Sharing and the Ethics Committee of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons have called for pilot studies of financial incentives. Conversely, the National Kidney Foundation maintains that it would not be feasible to design a pilot project that would definitively demonstrate the efficacy of financial incentives for organ donation. Moreover, the implementation of a pilot project would have the same corrosive effect on the ethical, moral and social fabric of this country that a formal change in policy would have. Finally, a demonstration project is objectionable because it will be difficult to revert to an altruistic system once payment is initiated, even if it becomes evident that financial incentives don 't have a positive impact on organ donation. '(http://www.kidney.org/news/newsroom/positionpaper03)

There are 112 thousand people on the organ transplant list and 22 people die every day because they cannot find a match ("Organ Donation Statistics", 2017). In 1984, under the National Organ Transplant Act, America outlawed the buying and selling of organs. If caught selling organs illegally, those involved shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both (Prohibition of Organ Purchases, 2011). With organizations like Planned Parenthood selling the body parts of aborted fetuses, the compensation of organs has been compared to prostitution. (Gebelhoff, 2015). If organ donors begin being compensated for their gifts of life, the Black Market organ trafficking will increase due to supply and demand of organs which in return creates a higher victim rate related to the black market. Offering money for organs can be viewed as an attempt to coerce economically disadvantaged Americans to participate in organ donation even though these groups of people have been shown to be less likely to be candidates, monetary incentives for organs could be characterized as exploitation (National Kidney Foundation, 2003). The Compensation of organ donation is unethical due to the acts by organizations such as Planned Parenthood, black market increases along with acts of cruelty towards unexpecting victims, and the increase in costs to perform the transplants.

In the essay “Organ Sales Will Save Lives” by Joanna MacKay, kidney failure is the main topic. In her thesis, MacKay states that, “Governments should not ban the sale of human organs; they should regulate it (92).” The thesis is supported by one main reason: it will save lives. In America 350,000 people struggle each year from this situation. MacKay also states that with the legal selling of organs, more people will be willing to give up their kidneys. There are also other ways to save lives like dialysis, but this situation would only be for a temporary time period, transplant is definitely the way to go. People in third world countries are

Many suggest that offering incentives or some form of monetary reimbursement for organs is likely to increase the quantity of organ donors and make the entire process easier for both donors and recipients. The severe organ shortage has generated such desperation that people all over the world have begun to resort to unethical practices to obtain the priceless organs.

There is no cost to donors or their families for organ or tissue donation. It's illegal to pay someone for an organ.

There are several reasons besides the obvious ethical issues that make it wrong to sell organs from live donors. First of all the dangers presented to the donor. Most of the organ donors who would donate their organs for money will mostly come from third world nations. There are two main problems with this. The ignorance of the donor to the risks involved before he or she gives consent, and the fact that the “middle-men” involved are motivated by money so the most profitable way to remove the organ will be used, putting the health of the donor second. Another issue that would be presented is people will take patients off of life support earlier than they would otherwise if they are motivated by money.

The ethical issue for the majority of people in the U.S. does not seem to be whether donating organs should be allowed, but instead should someone be compensated for their donation. As described earlier, the U.S. has a major shortage of organs and an even greater shortage is found in some areas of the world. However, countries like Iran have found a way to eliminate their shortage completely. “Iran adopted a system of paying kidney donors in 1988 and within 11 years it became the only country in the world to clear its waiting list for transplants.” (Economist, 2011) Although this sounds promising, it is important to look at the effects on the organ donor. In a study done on Iranian donors who sold their kidneys, it was found that many donors were negatively affected emotionally and physically after donating and that given the chance most would never donate again nor would they advise anyone else to do so. (Zargooshi, 2001) Additionally, many claimed to be worse off financially after donating due to an inability to work. (Goyal, 2002) To some, this last set of findings would be enough to supersede the benefit of clearing the organ waiting lists.

In the United States today, people lose their lives to many different causes. Though this is tragic, there are also a large group of people who could benefit from these deaths; and those people are people in need of an organ transplant. Although a sudden or tragic death can be heart breaking to a family, they could feel some relief by using their loved ones' organs to save the lives of many others. This act of kindness, though, can only be done with consent of both the victim and the family; making the donation of organs happen much less than is needed. The need for organs is growing every day, but the amount provided just is not keeping up. Because of the great lack of organ donors, the constant need for organs,

The legalization of organ sales has been proposed as a solution to two distinct problems. The first is the problem of illegal organ trafficking and the second is the problem of inadequate supplies of organs available for transplants. Gregory (2011) outlined the case for legalizing organ sales by arguing that the current shortage of organs fuels a black market trade that benefits nobody except criminals. He further argues that such a move would add organs to the market, thereby saving the lives of those who would otherwise die without a transplant, while delivering fair value to the person donating the organ. There are a number of problems with the view that legalizing the organ trade is beneficial. Such a move would exacerbate negative health outcomes for the poor, strengthening inequality, but such a move would also violate any reasonable standard of ethics, by inherently placing a price on one's life and health. This paper will expand on these points and make the case that we should not allow people to pay for organs.

In the United States, there are over one hundred thousand people on the waiting list to receive a life-saving organ donation, yet only one out of four will ever receive that precious gift (Statistics & Facts, n.d.). The demand for organ donation has consistently exceeded supply, and the gap between the number of recipients on the waiting list and the number of donors has increased by 110% in the last ten years (O'Reilly, 2009). As a result, some propose radical new ideas to meet these demands, including the selling of human organs. Financial compensation for organs, which is illegal in the United States, is considered repugnant to many. The solution to this ethical dilemma isn’t found in a wallet; there are other alternatives available

In todays time, the demand for organs have sky rocketed, but the organ supply has dropped tremendously. There are too many people on this planet for their to be others dying from not receiving an organ. Not enough people take the time out to sign up to donate organs. Signing up to become a organ donor is as simple as checking a box on your license form. Being an organ donor does not quickly put an end to your life as most people may think. It simply secures another person 's life once yours has come to an end. If organ donation was made mandatory it could say hundreds of more lives than right now. When a