Market for Human Organs
Logan Williams
Economics 211
Cupelli
28 February 2013
The Market for Human Organs Richard Knox, a National Public Radio reporter (Richard Knox), states, “About 75,000 Americans are on the waiting list for kidney transplants. But in the coming year, just 18,000 will get them.” Unfortunately, the transplant list is only growing with each passing year. This means that many people will die on the waiting list and those who are lucky enough to get to surgery may not be strong enough to survive the operation because they have been without vital organs for so long. The legalization of the market would cause more people to donate, evening out the difference between donations and needed transfers. Since the demand for human organs is so high people will do everything in their power to get what they need. Often times this leads to people searching the black market. These organs and operations are not only non-sterile, but can be extremely dangerous as the buying and selling conditions are often extremely unsafe. The black market is also known for causing crime, but the offenses committed for human organs a lot of the time involve violent crimes and sometimes murder. The legalization would cause these crimes to almost come to a complete stop. If the human organ market is legalized many more people would be able to get the organs they need. Many more lives would be saved if selling and purchasing organs were legal. Participation in medical research, the selling of blood, eggs, and semen for compensation has become a way for many people to come out of debt or simply have a little bit more money to get by. It only makes sense that if people were given the options to sell their organs more would be involved. With the legalization of the human organ market, people would be more likely to donate their organs knowing that they can get a reward for saving someone’s life. This will help people pay off debts, save money for retirement, or give them more spending money in a
Economics 211
Cupelli
28 February 2013
The Market for Human Organs Richard Knox, a National Public Radio reporter (Richard Knox), states, “About 75,000 Americans are on the waiting list for kidney transplants. But in the coming year, just 18,000 will get them.” Unfortunately, the transplant list is only growing with each passing year. This means that many people will die on the waiting list and those who are lucky enough to get to surgery may not be strong enough to survive the operation because they have been without vital organs for so long. The legalization of the market would cause more people to donate, evening out the difference between donations and needed transfers. Since the demand for human organs is so high people will do everything in their power to get what they need. Often times this leads to people searching the black market. These organs and operations are not only non-sterile, but can be extremely dangerous as the buying and selling conditions are often extremely unsafe. The black market is also known for causing crime, but the offenses committed for human organs a lot of the time involve violent crimes and sometimes murder. The legalization would cause these crimes to almost come to a complete stop. If the human organ market is legalized many more people would be able to get the organs they need. Many more lives would be saved if selling and purchasing organs were legal. Participation in medical research, the selling of blood, eggs, and semen for compensation has become a way for many people to come out of debt or simply have a little bit more money to get by. It only makes sense that if people were given the options to sell their organs more would be involved. With the legalization of the human organ market, people would be more likely to donate their organs knowing that they can get a reward for saving someone’s life. This will help people pay off debts, save money for retirement, or give them more spending money in a
Cited: "Growing Market for Human Organs Exploits Poor." MSUToday. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. Knox, Richard. "Should We Legalize the Market for Human Organs?" NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. “Richard Knox.” N.p., n.d. Web. 27 February 2013 "Should the Sale of Human Organs Be Legal?" – Debate.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.