Persuasive Essay On Organ Donation

should organ donors be paid in full? A current study finds that organs from paid donors cost less than other alternatives. And could improve patient outcomes. But it does not address moral concerns or the potential for abuse of the system.Because of the National Organ Transplant Act, more Americans have lost their lives waiting for an organ. The law bans almost any non-medical payment to living organ donors. Whether by the government, health insurance companies, or charities. Recipients themselves can refund donors’ travel, residence, and lost wages, which helps but only when the beneficiaries have the means and will to do so. Also, they should not take a deceased person organs. What if they were poor and their family needs money. However,

“The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation.” (Corrie Ten Boom) As living creatures our organs are a very vital detail into who, what we are and how we work. We would not be able survive well and live our lives to the fullest that we possibly can, if we did not have them. Organ donation is a very important thing, whether it is just a kidney to be a live donor. Or giving it all when life is over and a new chapter begins. Even though people do attribute to organ donation there are just not enough people doing it, and now people are getting rich off of this misfortunes of others.

Selling one’s organs for money is not something that is typically talked about, and when it is everyone has an opinion. Organ selling is often viewed as a controversial subject like abortion and politics. Joanna MacKay’s article is superb. She effectively argues that organ sales should be legalized and that it is immoral to deny someone the opportunity to save a life. Organ sales would support the buyer and seller in numerous ways.

Many suggest that offering incentives or some form of monetary reimbursement for organs is likely to increase the quantity of organ donors and make the entire process easier for both donors and recipients. The severe organ shortage has generated such desperation that people all over the world have begun to resort to unethical practices to obtain the priceless organs.

There are several reasons besides the obvious ethical issues that make it wrong to sell organs from live donors. First of all the dangers presented to the donor. Most of the organ donors who would donate their organs for money will mostly come from third world nations. There are two main problems with this. The ignorance of the donor to the risks involved before he or she gives consent, and the fact that the “middle-men” involved are motivated by money so the most profitable way to remove the organ will be used, putting the health of the donor second. Another issue that would be presented is people will take patients off of life support earlier than they would otherwise if they are motivated by money.

The National Organ Transplant Act, signed into law in 1986, prohibits the sale of human organs. However, as over 100,000 Americans are currently awaiting an organ transplants, recently the idea of compensating organ donors has begun to be seriously considered. Opponents of the idea to compensate donors claim that this will lead to a situation where the wealthy use economic coercion to obtain needed organs from the poor, while supporters point to several methods which can regulate the system of compensation to ensure fair treatment of donors. Maryland is presently considering the idea of allowing donors to be compensated for their organs and we believe that under a strictly regulated system, organ donor compensation can be carried out ethically and safely for all involved.

As donors, not only receiving compensation for their organs will be their paybacks but the pleasure of doing a good deed by giving the gift of life to patients in need. Organ sales can be done in a fair way respecting the life of both donor and recipient making sure both are going to be fine during and after the transplant. Authorities can monitor people selling their organs and they can create regulations and standards that need to be meet to do this and for no one to take advantage. If the government gets involved in the whole process from start to end then donors shouldn’t have any problems to receive their pay and recipients can be sure the transaction is going to be done under safe conditions. Even tough organ sales are illegal here in the United States the industry has manage to charge costs in other ways. Being the reason why doctors, hospitals, and medical transportation companies are inflating the cost of their services, but then the donor is prohibited of receiving any monetary compensation (Boyer, 2012). Which is unfair that the system created a way for them not to lose money making an income for them but not the donor. Medical costs are increasing more every day (Habka, Mann, Landes & Soto-Gutierrez, 2015). So now not only a patient is hoping for an organ but also hoping their insurance is going to cover the entire treatment while on the wait for a transplant.

One person possesses the ability to grant eight people the opportunity to experience a second chance at life. This magnificent strategy that saves lives is called organ donation. Organ donation is when people authorize that after they are pronounced deceased, the organs and tissue in their body goes to people in longing need of a transplant. An individual can alter to a living donor as well; this is when an individual donates an organ while they are still alive and continuing to live. The donor and the family receive no form of incentive nor compensation; although, medical procedures towards removal of the organ is covered for (Organ Donation). Organ donation is often debated with organ sales, on whether individuals should be paid for endowing

The ethical issue for the majority of people in the U.S. does not seem to be whether donating organs should be allowed, but instead should someone be compensated for their donation. As described earlier, the U.S. has a major shortage of organs and an even greater shortage is found in some areas of the world. However, countries like Iran have found a way to eliminate their shortage completely. “Iran adopted a system of paying kidney donors in 1988 and within 11 years it became the only country in the world to clear its waiting list for transplants.” (Economist, 2011) Although this sounds promising, it is important to look at the effects on the organ donor. In a study done on Iranian donors who sold their kidneys, it was found that many donors were negatively affected emotionally and physically after donating and that given the chance most would never donate again nor would they advise anyone else to do so. (Zargooshi, 2001) Additionally, many claimed to be worse off financially after donating due to an inability to work. (Goyal, 2002) To some, this last set of findings would be enough to supersede the benefit of clearing the organ waiting lists.

    Today, medical operations save lives around the world, a feat that surely would surprise our ancestors. Many operations replace defective organs with new ones; for new organs to be ready to be implanted there need to be organ donors. We are not so advanced a society that we can grow replacement organs. Thousands of organ donors in the United States every year are seen as doing the most noble of deeds in modern civilization, and most of the time death has to occur before the organ can be used. Now, though, some are suggesting that organ donors—or their beneficiaries—should be paid for their donations. This should not happen, as it creates a strain on the already tight national budget, forces

Proponents of financial compensation for organ donors argue that it’s legal to be paid for donating reproductive material, and they suggest that organs should be handled in the same manner. The obvious difference, however, is that inability to conceive a child isn’t life-threatening. Healthy organs for transplant are limited, and recipients must be carefully selected to ensure that the transplant is successful. Imagine the moral chaos that would ensue if organs were sold to the highest bidder.

If the selling of organs becomes legal. Who is to say that the donor will not be tempted to sell the organs just because they are in need of money, and lack the understanding of the risks that are involved, such as kidney failure and various renal disorders that could occur? One could easily make a life changing decision under, stressful conditions, especially if that person has high debt or if that person feels that, that is their last hope. Many choices can affect their decision; however each person truly needs to understand the “why” and the effects of donor donation and not just become swayed because of the deposit of monetary funds. A physician who donated his organs at the age of eighteen went on to regret it after doing research and he

The incentive can range from tax credits to paying a portion of the donors education or debts. The debate and issue with this is that receiving compensation for donations undermines the meaning of the donation. Instead of being a selfless act, it becomes more of an entitlement to receive a reward. Furthermore, there are approaches that are ethically unacceptable such as organ conscription. Organ conscription would be considered ethically unacceptable because it violates donor autonomy. Instead of requiring an oral or written agreement beforehand from the donor, the organs are snatched as if they were personal property of the government. This also violates the principle of nonmaleficence because there would be harm towards the families of the deceased and their consent would not be taken into

Organ donations not only save lives but also money and time. If organ donations became prevalent the organ recipient would no longer need dialysis. Since there is no need for dialysis the cost to use the machine would lessen; this means that the cost of equipment would decrease, saving the hospital and insurance company’s money. More lives would be saved as well as benefit from those that no longer need an organ. In the book titled “Elements of Bioethics” adult organ transplants are only that have medical insurance. If organs are taken from recently deceased the cost for those that has no medical coverage was lessen. The process of organ transplantation is life changing and time is crucial. With shorter waiting time it would put ease on the person’s heart to know that this lifesaving event would happen sooner rather than later. In addition, when the organ is taken from the recently deceased the risk would be eliminated from

Despite the fact it is illegal to sell organs, to help increase the numbers of donors, some states are offering to pay the family indirectly. “If a family agrees to organ donation, Pennsylvania pays $300 directly to the family’s funeral home to help defray the cost of the funeral” (Organ Donation). With some states paying the family indirectly, there has been an increase in the number of donors. Being paid indirectly helps the families immensely. Not only does this help with the costs, but it takes away any stress they may have had about being able to afford the funeral. There’s no question that a change needs to be made to help improve the number of available organs.