Organs and the Lack of Availability
Phil 2300-301
13 April 2010
[Title]
Is it time for our society to reconsider the prohibitive laws that make it legally impossible to establish licit markets for bodily organs? So many people are unable to obtain organs they need due to the lack of availability. Increased medical advances have created the need for many more organs than are available (Staff). A commercial market may or may not solve the problem. There is a lack of commitment when it comes to donating organs which could be from fear. Potential donors fear medical personnel will not make every attempt possible to save their lives if they know they are donors. Little do they know, their organs will be available to save 50 more lives in the event of their death. The idea of paying people to sell and purchase human organs has created much controversy over the years. If someone wants to donate their organs, that is acceptable and even admirable. The idea of selling one’s organs for cash is generally deemed medically immoral. It is also immoral to entice people with money to “donate their organs”.
A solution to this issue is necessary to avoid illegal trades in human organs. There have been situations where funeral homes and crematoriums have dismembered bodies and sold them in black markets, obviously without the consent of the family or prior consent by the deceased. There is a system for distributing said body parts for both transplantation and research; however it is illegal to charge for these body parts. One example of selling organs comes from China. China has been forbidden since 1994 from using organs from dead prisoners. This creates controversy because the organs are sold at an erroneously high price and there have been instances where organs were removed, such as kidneys, from prisoners prior to their execution (Scheper-Hughes). The black market for distributing body parts is very lucrative. Unlawful sellers can take as much as $5000 up to tens of thousands of dollars depending on the
13 April 2010
[Title]
Is it time for our society to reconsider the prohibitive laws that make it legally impossible to establish licit markets for bodily organs? So many people are unable to obtain organs they need due to the lack of availability. Increased medical advances have created the need for many more organs than are available (Staff). A commercial market may or may not solve the problem. There is a lack of commitment when it comes to donating organs which could be from fear. Potential donors fear medical personnel will not make every attempt possible to save their lives if they know they are donors. Little do they know, their organs will be available to save 50 more lives in the event of their death. The idea of paying people to sell and purchase human organs has created much controversy over the years. If someone wants to donate their organs, that is acceptable and even admirable. The idea of selling one’s organs for cash is generally deemed medically immoral. It is also immoral to entice people with money to “donate their organs”.
A solution to this issue is necessary to avoid illegal trades in human organs. There have been situations where funeral homes and crematoriums have dismembered bodies and sold them in black markets, obviously without the consent of the family or prior consent by the deceased. There is a system for distributing said body parts for both transplantation and research; however it is illegal to charge for these body parts. One example of selling organs comes from China. China has been forbidden since 1994 from using organs from dead prisoners. This creates controversy because the organs are sold at an erroneously high price and there have been instances where organs were removed, such as kidneys, from prisoners prior to their execution (Scheper-Hughes). The black market for distributing body parts is very lucrative. Unlawful sellers can take as much as $5000 up to tens of thousands of dollars depending on the
Cited: Armour, Stephanie. "USA Today." 28 April 2006. Illegal trade in bodies shakes loved ones . 10 March 2010 . Scheper-Hughes, Nancy. "NI Global Issues for Learners of English ." 14 September 1998. Human Organs for Sale. 23 March 2010 . Staff, Mayo Clinic. "Organ donation: Don 't let these myths confuse you." 3 April 2010. Mayoclinic.com. 23 March 2010 . The Lancet. "Legal and illegal organ donation." The Lancet 7 June 2007: 1901. "The Legal Dictionary." 2008. Organ Procurement: Is It Better to Give or to Sell? 29 March 2010 .