The Importance Of Organ Transplants

The first organ donation was successfully performed in 1954 (Major). Since then, institutions have set up many regulations and processes that have saved many lives by allowing people to donate their organs, but government policies in the United States have set up laws that prevent individuals to make choices about their own bodies. The National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) is a regulation that prevents those who prefer to profit from their donation. The purpose of the act was to, “prohibit the assignment of a monetary value to an organ for transplantation, thus preventing commercialization and ensuring some level of equity in access to organs” (Delmonico). “Punishment includes fines up to $50 000 and 5 years in prison” (Friedman). The only country that legalizes organs to be bought and sold is Iran. The Iranian government recognized the overwhelming increasing of resources needed for dialysis as more and more people were becoming ill, so the government decided to make it legal to pay citizens to have transplants mainly in the UK (Major). When a person is in need of an organ, doctors assess whether or not that person is eligible for a transplant (Bernard). Once they have been approved, the patient will be referred by the doctor to a transplant center where they evaluate the patient’s physical and mental health as well as the patient’s social support to clear the requirements for being considered a viable candidate for an organ transplant, and finding the right donor is all

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.

In December of 1954, the first human organ transplant was performed in the United States between identical twin brothers. In the past sixty years, organ transplantation has become the gold standard in the treatment of organ failure from a number of underlying causes with dramatic improvements to recipients’ health and quality of life (Kaserman, 2007). From the first kidney transplant in 1954 to the late 1980’s, one of the biggest advancements was the use of cadaver organs. Organ rejection was the primary concern from the transplant team who knew that the use of cadaver organs posed higher risks of failure.

Due to the increase in medical technology over the years, medical advancements, such as organ transplants, have grown in commonality. This has increased the number of patient who needs such care. The problem with organ transplants arises from the debate on the ethical way to distribute organs and how to combat the issue of a lack of organ donors. An ethical approach to solving these issues is to develop a system of equal access that relies on maximizing benefits as well as respecting the rights of personal property through better patient-physician conversations when trying to increase organ donors.

With the evolution of time variety of advanced and useful medical procedures to save lives have been discovered, one of which being organ donations. Now days patients suffering from serious and life threatening conditions have the option of getting their organs replaced; a second chance at life. It should be mandatory that all people, once they have died be organ and tissue donors because after death they no longer need or use their organs. Secondly, by simply donating you could save numerous lives and lastly, there are critical organ shortages within Canada which could be resolved if there were more donors available

“There is a need to instil in people's hearts, especially in the hearts of the young, a genuine and deep appreciation of the need for brotherly love, a love that can find expression in the decision to become an organ donor.” Pope John Paul II stated in the Address to International Congress on Transplants. In a culture of death and self-centeredness it is important to prompt the youth to consider becoming an organ donor. The number of people in need of a transplant is growing quickly, and already is at a large rate. Eighteen people will die each day waiting for an organ transplant; more must be done to help these people, yet it must be within the standards of medical ethics.

Introduction: How do you feel when you have to wait for something you really, really want? What if it was something you couldn’t live without? By this time tomorrow, 18 people who are alive right now, will be dead. Not because they were in a car wreck, not because they were gunned down, no because their time at come, not even because they weren’t in the hospital, but simply because they couldn’t be given a life-saving transplant in time, eighteen people will die because the organ transplant they need will not be possible.

There are numerous problems dealing with organ transplantation. A major issue concerning organ transplantation is that organ donors are deficient and scarce. Donors have been known to scarce because not everyone takes good care of his or her body. There are not enough people to donate organs, yet the amount of people in need of organs is increasing by the hour. “Another conflict is organ transplants can still lead to other medical problems. This is usually because of the medicine you need to suppress your immune system” (Nazario Brunilda , “Common”). After an organ transplants, it is a must that you continuously take your medication; a sudden stop will most likely cause the immune system to reject the organ. “The medications can also raise your blood pressure and can cause osteoporosis due to loss of calcium” (Etienne, Flueridor Wendy).

Imagine the feeling of knowing that you saved someone's life. Thousands of people are waiting for the perfect match to arrive so they can live a happy, Healthy, and normal life outside of a hospital. Organ Transplantation is a long and hard process that many people have to encounter. Giving someone a second chance at life, what could be better than knowing you saved someone's life. That's what organ donation can give a person. The need for organs is constantly growing, and becoming an organ donor is very easy. Anyone can be a hero, become a hero and donate organs, because transplants are good and save lives.

According to the American Transplant Foundation, more than 120,000 people in the United States are on the waiting list to receive lifesaving organ transplant. Every 10 minutes a new name is added to the transplant waiting list and on average around 20 people die per day due to a lack of organ availability. The never changing high number of demands for organs and high shortage of donors in the United States of America has made a gap between the numbers, therefore a discussion has raised- how to lower this gap. China, for example, has found a solution- they used death-row inmate’s organs for transplant operations. A report from international team, which included human rights lawyers and journalist estimated that 60,00 to 10,000 organs are

Increasing the supply of willing donors should be the top priority because, majority of people are in need of organ transplants and not many are willing to be organ donors. There are “more than 120,00 people in the United States waiting for organ transplants” and every 10 minutes a new name is added to the waiting list. Meanwhile, according to Donate a Life there’s only “14,414 organ donors.” It’s obvious to see a tremendous increase of patients waiting for an organ transplantation, while the number of willing donors is not reaching up to that level.

Do societies most dangerous deserve prior health care? It is debatable if prisoners should be placed on organs transplant waiting list or not. Prison officials in several states are mulling over two sides of the coin with respect to organ transplants for prisoners: First, the eligibility and cost of such medical procedure, and second whether prisoners should be allowed to donate their organs. Organ scarcity and the pressure to ensure that each organ is utilized to the best of its capability have led to the dominant question of whether social status, such of prisoners, is a criterion on the allocation of organs waiting list. Because the numbers of individuals placed on the waiting list is increasing constantly while there is a continued scarcity of organs, our society has the task of deciding who should be eligible to receive organ transplants. Currently according to the United Sharing Network, there are 122,638 people waiting for a lifesaving transplant. Every ten minutes, someone is added to the national transplant waiting list. On average, 22 people die each day while waiting for a transplant. One organ donor can save up to eight lives.

Organ transfer refers to the process of donation, procurement and transplantation of an organ (Sharp, 2001:112). This practice raises ethical issues and dilemmas concerning the recipient but particularly concerning the donor. In a world where organs are more and more viewed as spare parts that can be gifted away or sold, deceased donors are seen as dehumanized objects that can be fragmented for parts and not as persons (Sharp, 2001). Living donation means a risk of exploitation of marginalized populations who may be pressured to give up their organs due to family or financial conditions (Scheper-Hughes, 2007).

A human life is precious. When a procedure takes place to extend a life, there’s many regulations doctors must abide by. An organ transplant is a laborious process due to the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) of 1984. NOTA established the national Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) for matching donor organs to waiting recipients. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the organization that manages the OPTN, pretty much responsible for making and managing the connections between donors and recipients. The donor’s blood type and body size is provided to UNOS. The UNOS computer system then matches the donated organs to patients who are potential recipients of the needed organs. The recipient is selected on different criteria;

Organ transplantation is a medical act which involves the surgical operating by transferring or removing of an organ from one person to the other, or placing the organ of a donor into the body of a recipient for the replacement of the recipients damaged or failed organ which resulted from impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism or an act that causes someone to receive physical damage.