Xenotransplantation Imagine that your closest relative is in need of an organ transplant. Would you be willing to give up one of your organs to save their life? Or would you make them wait for an organ donor? A new biotechnology called ‘Xenotransplantation’ is currently being used to solve this dilemma in order to save the lives of countless people around the world. Firstly, what is Xenotransplantation? Xenotransplantation is defined as the transfer of living cells, organs and tissues from one species to another. Today, we are growing genetically engineered pigs to provide organs to humans who need them. The diagram to the right shows the process of the organ transplant. Xenotransplantation offers many advantages.
“I think you should automatically donate your organs because that would turn the balance of organ donation in a huge way. I would donate whatever anybody would take, and I 'd probably do the cremation bit.” (George Clooney) Even though people do attribute to organ donation there are just not enough people doing it. When someone chooses to register to donate organs, that person is considered a modern day hero. By means of donation every person who registers to become an organ donor can save the lives of up to 8 other people. As of April 2015 there were 123,193 patients waiting for an organ transplant. Over 100,000 of the patients that are on that list just due to needing a kidney. Every month around 3,000 new patients are added to the waiting list, that comes out to about a new patient every 10 to 14 minutes ("Organ
In this scenario, the good of saving lives out-weighs the bad of the selling of organs.
What if I told you that you could potentially save Jordan’s life? If all of us in this room were suitable candidates for organ donation, how many lives do you think we could save? To a critically sick patient like Jordan, an organ
More than 100,000 men, women and children in need of life-saving organ transplants, every 10 minutes another person is added to the national organ transplant waiting list and averages of 18 people die each day from the lack of available organs. (donatelife.net) Organ transplants are very important because they replace the damaged organ and help the body function once again. There are still huge shortages of organs, even after awareness and other ways of educating the public. Some Americans are open to donating but many more are against it or unaware of the process which leaves many without organs and dying every day. The ongoing debate is whether to give financial incentives to organ donors to promote organ donation which would put a price
As technology continues to progress the feasibility of organ transplantation becomes a commonplace. It is very common for organs to be donated after one passes if it is the wishes of the deceased. As the supply of organs from the deceased is greatly outnumbered by the number of patients on waitlists living donors becomes an issue. Many times a relative or close friend is willing to give up an organ to help save a life. The question is: Is it ethical to accept a monetary payment in exchange for an organ to save a life?
Please try and consider the following situation. You’re sitting in an emergency room, waiting for your dad to awake after falling into liver failure, costing him to need a new liver. Not knowing if it’s possible, crossing your fingers. You wish you could help, but you can’t. Someone else can. An organ donor. According to organdonor.gov, about 116,000 U.S. citizens are waiting on the organ transplant list as of August 2017. To put that number into perspective, that’s more than double the amount of people that can fit into Yankee Stadium. And to make matters worse, 20 people each day die waiting for a transplant.(organdonor.gov) Organ donation can offer patients a second chance at life and provides
from, if I had to live my life giving up my organs because other people somehow
All it takes is one checkmark in a box and eight lives could be saved. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one organ donor can save up to eight lives. Currently about 123,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant and every ten minutes a new name is added to the waiting list. On average, seventy-nine people receive organ donations daily; however, about twenty-two people die each day because of the shortage of organ donors. Donating organs is a lot more than a check in the box, it could change the way a person lives their life forever. Not to mention, organ donors do save lives. Even though, there are practiced unethical organ donor procedures that occur and there is the possibility of a procedure going wrong,
If I agree to donate my organs, the hospital won’t work as hard to save my life: When you go to hospitals for treatment, doctors focus on saving your life, not someone else’s, and the doctor in charge of your care has nothing to do with transplantation.
The need of human organs for transplantation increases every single day and every passing month. Thousands of people are on the waiting list hoping for a chance at a new life. Unfortunately, the supply of available organs through organ donations is not able to provide for the growing demand of organs. According to a research conducted by the Hasting Center, “there are close to 100,000 people on the waiting list for a kidney, heart, liver, lung, and intestines, the pressure to find ways to increase their supply is enormous (Capland, 2014, p. 214). The shortage of human organs is leading people to participate in unethical acts. The pressure of finding available organs has resulted in healthcare professional and
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.
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.
According to the US Department Health & Human Service website a person will be added to the donor list every 10 minutes (Why Donate?, 2014). What if one of those individuals were in your family? Wouldn’t you want others to offer a life-saving opportunity to you? While making the choice to donate any organ is difficult you have the power to offer the needed organ to your own family or another family that may be losing hope.
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,
Tie To Audience: This may not seem like a direct problem for any of you at this moment, but no one can predict when or if a family member or someone one you love, might need an organ transplant. So in that event, wouldn’t you want people like yourself on the donor list?