The Shortage Of Organ Transplantation

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.

Today we are in great need of a solution to solve the problem of the shortage of human organs available for transplant. The website for Donate Life America estimates that in the United States over 100 people per day are added to the current list of over 100,000 men, women, and children that are waiting for life-saving transplants. Sadly enough, approximately 18 people a day on that list die just because they cannot outlive the wait for the organ that they so desperately need to survive. James Burdick, director of the Division of Transplantation for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services confirms, “The need for organ transplants continues to grow and this demand continues to outpace the supply of transplantable organs”. The

Dying painfully in a hospital bed is not the way anyone wants to go. Unfortunately for many people, it is a reality. Thousands of people a year end up dying while waiting for an organ that could save their lives. While on the other side of the world, thousands of people die a year, but from infection when an organ is forcefully taken from them to sell on the black market. There are two sides of the organ donation list, and both can end in death. This paper will discuss the shortage of donated organs and the issues with the current donation system. It will also discuss the black market for transplant organs and possible solutions to viable organ shortage. The focus of this paper will be on transplant kidneys as they are the most desirable organ for buyers and sellers.

According to the American Transplant Foundation, more than 120,000 people in the United States are on the waiting list to receive lifesaving organ transplant. Every 10 minutes a new name is added to the transplant waiting list and on average around 20 people die per day due to a lack of organ availability. The never changing high number of demands for organs and high shortage of donors in the United States of America has made a gap between the numbers, therefore a discussion has raised- how to lower this gap. China, for example, has found a solution- they used death-row inmate’s organs for transplant operations. A report from international team, which included human rights lawyers and journalist estimated that 60,00 to 10,000 organs are

For over 13 year I have worked in healthcare and I have seen multiple patients die from organ failure as they waited on the transplant list. I’ve seen patients lose their quality of life as they sit in hospitals for weeks and months at a time as they waited for a kidney transplant. I also know people who have donated the organs of their loved ones and were blessed to know that their loss was the beginning of another person’s life.

The medical industry had been achieving more in the stage of medical advancements, though they are still in the early phase. Artificial organs have been one of those achievements. Although they have achieved such, artificial organs are not perfect. Most doctors as well as patients would prefer to replace a dying organ with a compatible human organ, rather than with an artificial or animal organ. Yet due to a there being less organs donated than recipients, artificial and animal organs are becoming more common in transplants. Most of this issue is because people are unaware of how organ donation works, the organs that can be donated, how many people are in need, and the advancements that have happened in the field. Organ donation saves hundreds of lives every year, but many lives are recklessly lost due to a shortage of organ donors.

Recent medical advances have greatly enhanced the ability to successfully transplant organs and tissue. Forty-five years ago the first successful kidney transplant was performed in the United States, followed twenty years later by the first heart transplant. Statistics from the United Network for Organ Sharing (ONOS) indicate that in 1998 a total of 20,961 transplants were performed in the United States. Although the number of transplants has risen sharply in recent years, the demand for organs far outweighs the supply. To date, more than 65,000 people are on the national organ transplant waiting list and about 4,000 of them will die this year- about 11 every day- while waiting for a chance to extend their life through organ donation

D. Thesis - Organ donation and Transplants are the most remarkable success stories in the history of medicine. They give hope to

Transplantation of organs has become a mass phenomenon in the United States. However, at the same time, thousands of Americans die each year while waiting their turn to receive a donor’s body part. The U.S. government establishes that human organs can be accessed for transplantation only with the personal consent or with the consent of closest relatives. In most of the U.S. states, a person who receives a driver's license is encouraged to allow his organs to be used in the event of a fatal accident. Upon agreement, the appropriate mark is entered on the driver’s license. Similar questions are asked when obtaining other identity cards. Americans can also report their desire to become such donors through local

Main Point 1: Organ donation is such a simple and selfless action one takes to save the lives of others. Now much of what we will we discuss, also applies to living donation, but we will focus on deceased donation. The number of patients waiting for organs far exceeds the number of people who have registered to become organ donors. According to UNOS, every 10 minutes, a new name is added to the national transplant list. 20 people die everyday from the lack of available organs. Just one deceased person, can save up to 8 lives, 9 lives if you split the liver. Now if you donate tissues, you can improve the lives of up to 50 people! The need for organ donation is growing every minute. You can see why we need to register.

Organ transplantation is now an accepted treatment option for managing patients with irreversible failure of any of its organs. The history of the development of transplantation has been from the beginning full of ethical debates they dealt with the mutilation of the body, not less share of experimentation on human beings, even having to redefine the concept of death, giving rise to the concept of brain death .

There are currently 115,930 people on the national list awaiting an organ transplant (“Data”). These people wait patiently as death knocks on their door. In America, we can do so much to ensure that people will live on with the donations of organs. Unfortunately, many are unaware of the amount of people who are dying that are waiting for an organ. Organ donation is a great way to save someone's life, and continue the life of a loved one. Although it is a great way to give someone a new life many people are uninformed about donation and how valuable organs are. For example, did you know that in order for you to be recognized as a valid donor you must sign the back of your license?

Some people die, while waiting for donors for operations and each day the number of patients increases. “In 2002, 6,187 individuals died on the U.S. organ transplant waiting list because the organ they needed was not donated in time” (Ethics of Organ Transplantation). As a result, there were significant number of deaths. Each day there appear new people, who need organ transplants, and more than 100 new people for whom it is necessary to do an operation. Therefore there are a lot of needy people, but not enough donors. The UNOS website published the information about organ transplantation. In their work, there was some statistics about how many people die because they wait organs during a long

Just one donor can save the lives of eight people and change the lives of more than fifty people. The need for organ transplants continues to exceed the supply of organs which is resulting in the

There are lists for everything, what to needs to be done for the day, what to buy at the grocery store, but there is one with more lasting implications. The organ transplant list is a lengthy list filled with hopeful patients waiting for their turn to receive the next available organ. Sadly, this increasing list overshadows the organ donation list which fails to meet the demand of organs required. “The United States has the most successful transplant program in the history of medicine, yet it lacks the proper amount of organs to transplant” (Chapman, Jeremy). This causes patients to wait weeks, months, sometimes years for their new replacement. Some patients die before they even come close to receiving an available organ, yet no movement for change has been made. This donation system should be revised and alternatives like incentives for donating organs should be implemented.