Controversies in Organ Trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Controversies in Organ Trade - Essay Example The author of the paper states that since health and money are two of the major considerations in life, the rich but sickly individual may be willing to buy an organ being sold in order to survive, while the poor having normal health would be willing to sell his body organ in return for a reasonable amount of money also for survival, given that either’s lives will not be put into high risk of harm. This argument may be viewed as a win-win situation by the proponents of organ trade while the oppositions, in contrast, may view this as a form of human exploitation. While commercialization of human organ is still illegal, the number of individuals waiting for organ transplant will continue to rise due to shortage of donors. To begin with, the legality of organ donation was honored in 1984 when the U.S. Congress passed the National Organ Transplant Act or NOTA in an effort to strengthen the nation’s ability to provide organs for transplant (Greussner and Benedetti 16). The N OTA strictly prohibits the commercial enterprise (buying/selling) in organ transplantation and provides protection and safety for the living donors (Greussner and Benedetti 17). In the U.S., as well as in all other countries, organ trafficking for profit is illegal, except in Iran (Cholia). With the ethical aspect, the net positive balance between recipient risk/benefit and donor risk/benefit justifies the use of living donors for organ transplantation (Greussner and Benedetti 17). Furthermore, the importance of organ donation is no longer debatable as it has already been proven that organ transplantation saves life. The need for solid organ transplantation has rapidly expanded beyond the supply of available organ donors and the most of which are in need of kidney transplant (Gruessner and Benedetti 16). The Organ Procurement Transplantation Network or OPTN showed 26,218 successful transplants and 13,252 donors from January to November 2010. Base on the above figures, it can be noti ced that the number of donors is just slightly above 10% of the total number of individuals waiting for donated organ transplants. In spite of the various promotional efforts by the authorities in-charged in organ donation, the reluctance of the people to voluntarily donate their body organs still remains. Could it be the lack of compensatory return that is worthy for the risk the donors will be taking? Because of this imbalance issues in the scheme of voluntarism for organ donation, some people in great need resorted to opt in the black market where there is greater access for organs from persons who are willing to provide healthy organs in exchange for money. Suddath and A. Altman presented the existence of organ black market when Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, a New York City resident, was accused to orchestrate the sale of a human kidney for $160,000. They added that most sales take place in developing countries, where a kidney can often be purchased for the price of a high-end TV. The W orld Health Organization also stated that through the purchase and sale of transplant organs from live donors are prohibited in many countries, the shortage of an indigenous supply of organs has led to the development of the international organ trade, where potential recipients travel abroad to obtain organs through commercial transactions (Shimazono).