Paid Organ Donation - Essay Example

[Teacher’s Paid Organ Donation The world we live in today is one that is surrounded with many developments in terms of technology and the scientific discoveries. Therefore, this has created the possibility to carry out different operations especially in the medical field which can be life saving contribute to the increase in the average life expectancy as well as an improvement in the quality of life of individuals who were once considered to have chronic illnesses. However, some of the measures that are required have some ethical implications and there are some disadvantages that have been associated with these modes of intervention. Nevertheless one may argue that the disadvantages are by far outweighed by the potential benefits that exist in the process. An example of these measures is paid organ donation, which has been found to increase the amount of available organs as well as transform the world of transplantology. This paper will discuss the potential benefits of paid organ donation as well as address some of the issues that raise concern on the subject matter. This is an ethical matter therefore opinions on the issue will be subjective. When assessing issues of such sensitivity and subjectivity one must consider the objective facts in order to make an accurate analysis. Firstly, the current number of individuals who are on the waiting lists of an organ transplant is continuously increasing due to the scarcity in the number of available organs. Therefore, studies that were carried out by several research groups have indicated that any means which restricts or inhibits the number of available organs will worsen the situation and result in an increase in the number of patients waiting for available organs. Hence, prohibition of paid organ donation is a form of restriction in the number of organs which are available and is contributory towards a decrease in the number of available organs. Furthermore, the healthcare industry mainly the hospitals have a moral obligation to improve the health of the community and do everything within means to ensure that the lives of the patients are preserved. These ethical obligations are in coherence with the Hippocratic Oath which is taken by every doctor when they accept the responsibility of becoming a health care provider. Hence, this can be easily achieved by legalizing the process of paid organ donations. Opposing the issue of paid organ donation can also be viewed as a double standard. This is due to the fact that individuals are already required to pay for their health care services anyway which is why considering paying for organs unethical is a sign of hypocrisy as the patients are already doing this anyway. In addition, the price which the patients are required to pay is higher due to the scarcity of organs, meaning that in monetary terms, paid organ donations would lessen the financial burden on the patients. In short, the people who oppose this should also be in opposition of the patient paying for other associated services such as consultation of the actual transplant itself. One of the other reasons why it would be beneficial to society to legalize paid organ donation is the fact that there are already illegal organ harvesting organizations which carry out these process and sell the attained organs in what is known as the Red Market. The profit of these organizations is mainly on the basis that paid organ donation is illegal therefore there is a scarcity in the supply of available organs. Furthermore, the implications of such illegal industries are much more grave as the harvesting is not carried out under the supervision of an authorized organizations hence the protocols which are used in the screening process are very questionable. These organizations are not required to follow any safety precautions and operate on their own terms. Hence, legalizing paid organ donations will negatively affect these organizations as there will be more organs available meaning there is less demand for supple from these illegal organizations. It also creates a way to monitor the donated organs more efficiently. As mentioned above, the increase in the number of organs will also result in the decrease in the price of organs as the issue of scarcity will be addressed hence reducing the financial burden that is on the patients. This issue has been widely researched in many departments especially the nephrology department. The American Society of Nephrology carried out a research which assessed the implications of paid organ donations and the findings indicated that currently it would be more affordable if the kidney donors were paid $10 000. To be more specific, this was found to the save the community approximately $330 per patient and there would also be compensation for other associated expenses such as the yearly requirement of dialysis which costs more than $4500 per year. These researches also indicated the need to increase the number of organs available by assessing the data of patients on the waiting lists which showed that in the United States there are more than 97000 patients who are waiting for an organ transplant. In addition, more than 4000 patients died due to the fact that there were no available organs (Davis, 344-349). There are also other factors which make the issue of paid organ donation controversial. Many people who oppose this notion of placing a price on the organs of a human being as it also opens the door for several criminal activities. A survey showed that only 25% of physicians were in favor of this due to its ethical implications (Davis, 344-349). However, this is ironic considering the fact that medical practitioners are among the highest paid professionals for the provision of medical services. There were also suggestions made that the bidding wars for these available organs could also become unethical. However this is the current issue even today when paid organ donation is illegal. In addition, increase of these organs is likely to reduce this issue not stimulate it. In summation, there are many factors one has to consider when looking at the issue of paid organ donation. However, the majority of information that was found indicated that this would be beneficial to society and has more positive attributes. The risk can be acknowledged, however, it is superseded by the need to help the ailing population that is on the waiting lists for available organs. Works Cited Davis, Connie L. "How to increase living donation." Transplant International 24.4 (2011): 344-349. Read More