Organ Shortage
The organ shortage: To market, or not to market?
Organ transplantation is a term that most people are familiar with. When a person develops the need for a new organ either due to an accident or disease, they receive a transplant, right? No, that 's not always right. When a person needs a new organ, they usually face a long term struggle that they may never see the end of, at least while they are alive. The demand for transplant organs is a challenging problem that many people are working to solve. Countries all over the world face the organ shortage epidemic, and they all have different laws regarding what can be done to solve it. However, no country has been able to create a successful plan without causing moral and ethical dilemmas. The organ shortage is at a critical level, and unless a better system is devised, it will continue to get worse. The debate on whether to legalize and regulate organ trade through the free market has become a very controversial issue in the last decade. The shortage of organs is a problem the increases dramatically every day. In 2010, there were more than 112,000 people on the organ waiting list in the United States. However, there were only 14,507 donors. Of those donors, only 6,564 were "live donors" (UNOS, 2010). Organ trafficking is rising in popularity due to the constant increase in demand for organs and the continuous decrease in supply. Trafficking is the illegal trade of human organs such as the heart, liver, and, most commonly, the kidneys which are used for transplantation. Think about that one show or movie where an unsuspecting person goes out for a drink while on a business trip in a foreign country, then wakes up in a bathtub full of ice, in agonizing pain, and some badly done up stitches in their back- that 's organ trafficking. Every year, about 70,000 kidneys are transplanted worldwide. Of those 70,000, it is estimated that anywhere from 7,000 to 15,000 of them are involved in organ trafficking (Human
Organ transplantation is a term that most people are familiar with. When a person develops the need for a new organ either due to an accident or disease, they receive a transplant, right? No, that 's not always right. When a person needs a new organ, they usually face a long term struggle that they may never see the end of, at least while they are alive. The demand for transplant organs is a challenging problem that many people are working to solve. Countries all over the world face the organ shortage epidemic, and they all have different laws regarding what can be done to solve it. However, no country has been able to create a successful plan without causing moral and ethical dilemmas. The organ shortage is at a critical level, and unless a better system is devised, it will continue to get worse. The debate on whether to legalize and regulate organ trade through the free market has become a very controversial issue in the last decade. The shortage of organs is a problem the increases dramatically every day. In 2010, there were more than 112,000 people on the organ waiting list in the United States. However, there were only 14,507 donors. Of those donors, only 6,564 were "live donors" (UNOS, 2010). Organ trafficking is rising in popularity due to the constant increase in demand for organs and the continuous decrease in supply. Trafficking is the illegal trade of human organs such as the heart, liver, and, most commonly, the kidneys which are used for transplantation. Think about that one show or movie where an unsuspecting person goes out for a drink while on a business trip in a foreign country, then wakes up in a bathtub full of ice, in agonizing pain, and some badly done up stitches in their back- that 's organ trafficking. Every year, about 70,000 kidneys are transplanted worldwide. Of those 70,000, it is estimated that anywhere from 7,000 to 15,000 of them are involved in organ trafficking (Human
References: UNOS. (2010). Organ donation statistics . Retrieved from: http://www.donatelifeny.org/about-donation/data/ Human Trafficking Project "Organ Trafficking: A Fast-Expanding Black Market", (n.d.), Retrieved from http://www.traffickingproject.org/2008/03/organ-trafficking-fast-expanding-black.html Dubner, S. (2008, April 29). Human organs for sale, legally, in... which country?. Retrieved from http://www.freakonomics.com/2008/04/29/human-organs-for-sale-legally-in-which-country/ Huebner, Albert. "The Selling of Body Parts Exploits the Poor." Is Selling Body Parts Ethical? Ed. Christina Fisanick. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. At Issue. Rpt. from "Special Report: Organ Snatchers." Toward Freedom. 2004. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 7 Apr. 2012. Retrieved from <http://ic.galegroup.com.bakerezproxy.palnet.info/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=true&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010608209&mode=view&userGroupName=lom_falconbaker&jsid=c5132dea4e2e0b0a4869413ca7f087e4> Smith, Lewis. (2011, January 5). Sale of human organs should be legalized. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/sale-of-human-organs-should-be-legalised-say-surgeons-2176110.html Repsys, Steve. (n.d.). Organ donation risk. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_5447941_organ-donation-risk.html Video: Organ Transplants, (n.d.), Prod. PF Bentley. Perf. Drew Carry, Virgina Postrel. - Video: Organ Transplants. Reason.Tv. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. Retrieved from <http://reason.tv/video/show/organ-transplants>.