The Pros And Cons Of Organ Compensation

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.

In the United States, there are currently 116,608 people in need of a lifesaving organ transplant, and 75,684 people that are currently active waiting list candidates (HRSA, 2017). Between January and September 2017, there have only been 12,211 organ donors (HRSA, 2017) which is far less that the current demand for lifesaving organs. The shortage of donors could lead to an individual looking for outside sources such as the black market to find their lifesaving organ. Offering incentives to persons who chose to donate their organs or those of a deceased loved one is important because it could stop the illegal selling of organs, save the life of someone in need of an organ transplant and benefit both the donor and recipient.

“Illegal trade in kidneys has risen to such a level that an estimated 10,000 black market operation involving purchased human organs now take place annually or more than one an hour” (The Guardian, 2012). People that are in the need of an organ and willing to participate in illegal activities will either send a broker or go directly to another country where people are lacking in the knowledge of the situation or have an extreme disability and buy an organ rom that individual. In most cases a broker will promise the seller a great amount of money, but in the end they will only receive a fraction of the money that was promised and for some they receive no money. If a broker cannot buy an organ they will steal one. “However, when the organ, like many other valuables that cannot be bought, it is stolen resulting in flagrant violation of human rights” (U.N.O.D.C, 2000). It is currently illegal to buy or sell human organ in the United States and many other countries. People involved with the operation of human trafficking will be charged with a trafficking offence. “For a trafficking offence to be established must be evidence of an illegal act (recruitment) followed by an illegal means (coercion) for the purpose of exploitation (organ harvesting), one in ten organ transplants are illegal” (U.N.O.D.C, 2000). Illegal sales of organs are increasing the rate of criminal

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.

122,542. That is the current amount of names on the national organ transplant list. Only about 6% of those people will actually go through a lifesaving organ transplantation within the next year (Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, 2015) due to the short supply of organ donations. Every ten minutes, another person is placed on the waiting list, and every day 22 people on that list die before they ever receive a new organ (Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, 2015). As a result, there is a very intense demand for human organs, but too little people are willing to donate them. The shortage of organs for transplant caused the emergence of organ trafficking which favors a wealthy minority of individuals and exploits the poor

Being financially compensated for donating an organ affects the country. The money that will be paid to the donor comes from the government. The government gets money from the people through taxes. In turn, if people began to be financially compensated for donating an organ, insurance rates would go up. This would make citizens unhappy, as it would mean more money would need to be paid.

“73,000 people sit on waiting lists for a kidney- 18 of them will die tomorrow and 6,000 more patients join the list every year” (Monti, 2013, p. 1). To get needed organs, many people have proposed the idea of selling organs to persuade the general public to give organs instead of donating and make the availability greater. Currently in America, the only way to obtain an organ is to have it donated by someone who is a match, which greatly revolves around family members and friends. If a family member is not a match, then the patient gets put on a waiting list that may take months to fulfill. This has turned wealthier patients to buying illegal organs off the black market. Furthermore, it creates an unfair advantage for the wealthier patients

Every day, an average of 79 people receive an organ transplant. However, an average of 22 people die each day waiting for transplants that can’t take place because of the deficiency of donated organs. Paying organ donors is prohibited by the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984, which has led desperate people on the transplant waiting list to turn to the black market in order to purchase their needed organ. We should be able to create a legal market for the purchase and sale of human organs. A legal market would not only increase the number of donated organs and save countless lives, but would also reduce crime and violence associated with the black market.

Because of this, “The U.N. public health body estimates that 10,000 organs are now traded every year, with figures soaring off the back of a huge rise in black market kidney transplant.” (Gayle,1). This, of course, also means that some of these organs are taken without the consent of the donor. This includes “political prisoners [that] are being used as live organ donors” (Carney,1), along with those who are kidnapped by local gangs for organ trafficking. Whether if their procedure is consensual or not, the poor are usually left with less than they were promised. This, of course, is fueled by the need of money, either by both those who are directly a part of this deceptive “organ harvesting” process (gangs, organ traffickers, corrupt doctors, middlemen, etc.), and the impoverished themselves. The need for their organs starts with the purchase of them by “wealthy patients [that pay] up to £128,500 for a kidney to gangs, often in China, India and Pakistan, who [then] harvest the organs from desperate

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, organ sales are illegal, and conducted only on the black market and with either unlicensed or underhanded doctors performing the operations. The law prohibiting selling organs is there primarily to protect a person’s life and “pursuit of happiness.” What happens when people get paid for donating organs? A human being only needs one lung and one kidney; many people would endanger their health by donating organs to get money. A booming industry of organ sales would emerge, with some people stooping to violent means in order to forcibly acquire more organs to sell and get rich off of.

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

The need for organs is a growing dilemma amongst America and countries all over the world. Thousands of people sit on waiting lists in hopes to receive a new organ never knowing if they will actually receive one before their delicate organ gives up. Although many people are willing to be donors upon the time of their own death, the shortage of organs hangs over the patients and families who deal with the reality of an organ shortage every day. One solution that has been proposed is allowing people to be able to sell their own organs in order to meet the need that is out there now. Constructing a program that allows the sale of an organ would lead to a decrease in the black market for organs, an increase in organ availability, and create a greater awareness of the need for more organ donors.

Organ sale—for example, allowing or encouraging consenting adults to become living kidney donors in return for money—has been proposed as a possible solution to the seemingly chronic shortage of organs for transplantation. Many people however regard this idea as abhorrent and argue both that the practice would be unethical and that it should be banned. This entry outlines some of the different possible kinds of organ sale, briefly states the case in favor, and then examines the main arguments against.

In the United States “There are currently 123,378 people on the organ transplant wait list and of that number, approximately 21 will die today.” (McAndrews et al., 2016, pg. 182). People all over the world is waiting patiently for an organ donor for their loved ones or for themselves. Organ sales is an on-going process in the United States, as well in other countries. However, in the United States and some countries it is illegal for a person to sell their organs to anyone for money. Organ sales is when someone is selling their organs for money, and it is either to help them with their living situation, such as paying their bills, and putting food on their table. Organ sales have been a big problem in society, because individuals that are living in poverty in poor countries gets taken advantage of because of their living situation. These individuals will sell their organs to help get themselves or their family out of poverty or help with any depths they owe. In the United States, Arab Emirates wanted to sell his kidney in-order-to help his family of two wives and six children living at their grandparent’s home. Another case is in India, “The Tribune, India reported that a 42-year-old Nepalese man named Man Dhoj Tamang sold one of his kidneys to pay off his debts and buy a piece of land.” (Bakdash, 2006, para. 3). Organ sales in the United States are immoral, because they target the individuals living in poverty, causes organ or human trafficking, and creates a black market