Organ Sales

Selling Organs Many people are dying each day because of the lack of organs available. Waiting lists can be as long as 106,000 people. On an average 17 patients in need of transplants die each day. Is this fair to the families or is selling organs a better option? What are the benefits of organ selling and should it be made legal? By legalizing organ selling we would be saving lives. People sell organs on the black market every day; the downfall to this is that the surgeons that remove the organs are not always sanitary or certified. The article legalizing paid organs: pros and cons states “Establishing a federal agency to oversee organ sales will cut dialysis costs and save lives, of both patients in need of new kidneys and those selling or receiving kidneys illegally by unregulated surgeons.” This is a good point, the organs would be ensured safe. The people donating would be more motivated to donate more organs if there was an incentive of making money. Some people fear that, “The lawful sale of organs would legitimize human sacrifice.” Although this might be true successful transplants depended on knowledge of characteristics of the donor. The origin of the organ to be sold must be known for it to be used. Although many fear legalization of this may bring about a “sacrifice spree” others realize that, “The black market cannot be regulated, but its purpose would be defeated if the sale of organs became lawful”. Also legalizing organ selling will create an unlevel playing field. Meaning that people that could not afford to buy an organ would die and the wealthy people will live. The selling of organs impacts health care workers in many ways. One way could include that the organ is harvested in an unsafe environment causing communicable infections. This puts not only the health care worker at risk but also the other patients. A health care worker could feel responsible if a person that has been on a waiting list dies due to the lack of