Compensating Kidney Donors - 2554 Words

Organ Donation: Legalizing Human Kidney Sales The process of organ donation has existed for many years and throughout that time the system has endured controversies and changes. One of those changes occurred in the late 1960s when the development of immunosuppressive drugs made it possible for people to donate organs to patients who were not related to them (Fentiman 43). This discovery benefited many patients in need of a transplant, but also opened the door to controversies such as organ sales. The first proposal to sell organs came from Virginia physician Dr. H. Barry Jacobs in 1983. He suggested that whoever could afford to buy a kidney should be allowed to do so. As a result of Dr. Jacobs’s proposal, Congress banned the sale of†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ailing, rich patients are buying kidneys from the poor and desperate in burgeoning black markets. Clandestine kidney-sellers get little medical follow-up, buyers often catch hepatitis or HIV, and both endure the consequences of slap-dash surgery† (â€Å"Psst, Wanna . . . † 15). This dangerous alternative provides one example of why the current organ donation system needs to be revised. Another example is that some patients pay to register with internet sites that try to help find organ donors. One site, Matchingdonors.com, charges a lifetime fee of $595 (Postrel 124). Not only do patients spend unnecessary amounts of money on these sites, many who find donors get rejected by hospitals. Hospitals fear that strangers designating a recipient may receive some sort of compensation for their donation (Postrel 124). The refusal of sick patients provides just another reason why the current organ donation system needs to be altered. A new system that provides kidney donors with compensation would correct many of the current system’s problems, and increase the donor pool. The new system would allow donors to sell their kidney at a set price. Kidneys would go to recipients in the same way they do now; through the waiting list, whether the patient is rich or poor. Compensation comes from the recipient’s insurance, such as Medicare. To insure the safety of the reciepient and donor, every donor would be medically andShow MoreRelatedPersuasive Essay On Organ Donation1371 Words   |  6 Pagesviolated to make some extra cash, which could be obtained legally if compensation for donors were legal. In 2005, about one thousand two hundred people died waiting for a kidney transplant, something that could have been prevented if only there wasn’t an organ shortage. The shortage of organs can be tied to the financial devastation that organ donors often succumb to because of medical bills, loss of work, etc. Organ donors should be reimbursed because the selling of organs on the black market would decreaseRead MoreGovernment Compensation For Organ Donation1371 Words   |  6 PagesGovernment Compensation for Organ Donation From an early age, I knew that I would be an organ donor, and when I turned sixteen I began participating in blood drives at my high school. Donating blood became routine, something that my husband and I continue to do together. The reason behind why I donate blood is because it would be quite selfish of me to deny someone, even a complete stranger the gift of life when I am fully capable of giving it. However, the sad reality is that many Americans chooseRead MoreFinancial Compensation for Organ Donation Essay1307 Words   |  6 Pagesdonation, yet only one out of four will ever receive that precious gift (Statistics Facts, n.d.). The demand for organ donation has consistently exceeded supply, and the gap between the number of recipients on the waiting list and the number of donors has increased by 110% in the last ten years (OReilly, 2009). As a result, some propose radical new ideas to meet these demands, including the selling of human organs. Financial compensation for organ s, which is illegal in the United States, isRead MoreOrgan Donation Essay915 Words   |  4 Pagesthe numerous deaths. A way to resolve this problem is to compensate organ donors. Donors should be reimbursed for their donations because it allows patients to be given their organs faster, will help end organ shortages, and the donors should receive compensation for their hospital stay, along with other expenses that the donor typically has to pay out of their pocket. This controversial topic of compensation for organ donors has been concerning more and more people, because some individuals thinkRead MoreIllegal Sale Of Human Organs1031 Words   |  5 Pagescontact with unscrupulous greedy criminals to secure themselves a kidney or any other type of human organ they may need. The idea that a person’s organ can be purchased online or through a dealer like a car is unethical and objectionable. Potential causes for the thriving black market and criminal activity is the dwindling supply of donated organs and the higher demand for organ transplants, along with the desperation of both the donor and the organ recipient. The crisis surrounding the shortages ofRead MoreSally Satels Organ for Sale.1154 Words   |  5 Pagesserves on the advisory committee of the  Center for Mental Health Services  of the  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. After being diagnosed in 2004 with  chronic renal failure, Virginia Postrel, a friend and also a writer donated a  kidney to Satel  on March 4, 2006. Satel adopts an unbiased tone in order to appeal to the emotional feelings of the People of United States by carefully outlining reasons to back her argument most of which were personal experiences. Her argument appearedRead MoreOrgan Donation Shortage- Problem-Solution Essay2591 Words   |  11 Pagesshortage Organ donation shortage When receiving a driver’s license in the United States, there is a section on the back in which it asks if the licensed driver would like to become an organ donor. Most people overlook this option. Nothing is really pushed forth for people wanting to become organ donors. Today in the U.S, thousands of people need organ transplants. Unfortunately, there is a growing shortage of donated organs. Many people die every year because there are not enough organs readyRead MoreThe Problem Of Organ Transplants1528 Words   |  7 Pagesamongst America and countries all over the world. Thousands of people sit on waiting lists in hopes to receive a new organ never knowing if they will actually receive one before their delicate organ gives up. Although many people are willing to be donors upon the time of their own death, the shortage of organs hangs over the patients and families who deal with the reality of an organ shortage every day. One solution that has been proposed is allowing peop le to be able to sell their own organs in orderRead MoreOrgan Donation1636 Words   |  7 Pagesexpected. When this happens, families mourn the loss of the loved one. However, do people mourn the loss of another life if the individual is not an organ donor? The National Kidney Foundation believes that â€Å"legalizing payments of human organs† should continue to be opposed, as codified in the third title of the National Organ Transplant Act. (National Kidney Foundation 220). If this title is changed, then there will be multiple unexpected side effects that could corrupt the system of organ donation toRead MoreShould The Sale Of Organs Become Legalized?1494 Words   |  6 Pagesperson. However in the United States an average of twenty one people die each day waiting for transplants due to shortages of donated organs according to the Government run website Organdoner.gov. It s not as though the others will eventually get kidneys if they just wait, sustained in the meantime b y dialysis. In the next year, nearly four thousand of those patients will die waiting. At least twelve hundred others will eventually end up off the list because they develop complications that make them