The Organ Trade - Essay Example

Trade in human organs Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Essay Plan Introduction Distinction between organ trade and organ harvesting Consumer exploitation Organ trade Without Consent Human Trafficking and Organ Trade Organ Trade and Lack of Information Measures in Organ Trade Conclusion References Introduction Trade in human organs has been on the increase in the recent years. Initially people used to import and buy human organs so that they can save lives. This is because there has been scarcity of human organs thus there is a need to find ways in which to save life. This is called an organ transplant, for example when an individual donates a new organ. However, in the recent years, people have commercialized organ trade. In addition, due to rampant poverty, people are selling their organizations so that they can earn money (Delmonico 2009). The organs are sold to customers who need it and because the organs are scarce, they cost highly and that is why low income earning people sell their organs for money. In this regard therefore, this essay will discuss ways in which the consumers of the organs are taking advantage of the poverty and exploiting the people through organ trade. The essay will further discuss the differences between organ donation and transplant. Distinction between Organ Trade and Organ Donation Trade in human organs is where an individual sells his or her organ like kidney with the aim of getting money. Most of the people who are faced with rampant poverty especially in developing economies, can sell their organs to those who in need of them so that they can get money (Delmonico 2009). This situation has been on the increase between individuals because there are potential buyers and willing sellers. On the other hand, organ donation is where an individual freely donates an organ to a patient to save life. There is no monetary exchange between the parties since the agreement is based on free consent. On the other hand, trade in human organs is meant to earn a living while organ donation is meant to save life of an individual. The people who are involved in organ trafficking are the poor people who sell their organs for money while organ donation is where an individual donates an organ to save life of an individual. In this regard, there is a big difference between organ trade and organ donation. Due to commercialization of human organs, various governments are taking measures they can stop organ trade so that the organs can be exchanged just to save life (Delmonico 2009). In addition, increased organ trade has led to organ trafficking. Individuals are being hijacked and organs taken from them so that they can be sold to earn money. This is why trade in human organs is being discouraged because it is leading to human trafficking with the aim of getting the organs of the individuals. Consumer Exploitation There are a number of ways in which the consumers of the human organs are exploiting the poverty of people to get their organs. This is one way in which the governments are formulating policies which can help to eliminate the exploitation of people with poverty to sell their organs for pay. In the first place, the consumers of the human organs are exploiting poor people by forcing them or deceiving them to give out their organs (Shimazono 2007). This is because some of the consumers cheat the people to give out some of their organs so that they can be paid. This is exploitation because the poor people do not freely accept to give their organs, but they are deceived into doing the business. As a result, the people are exploited due to organ trafficking activities. Cheating of the organ providers is one way in which the poor people are exploited and should be stopped. Instead, there should be free provision of the organs with free consent. On the other hand, the consumers are exploiting the organ providers who are poor in that they cheat them that they will pay a certain amount of money once they offer their organs. The organ providers can formally or informally agree to sell their organs. After the organ has been exchanged, the organ providers are then paid less than what they agreed or what they expected. This is taking advantage of the poor people to get money because the individual anticipate that they will get better returns after sacrificing to give their organs (Shimazono 2007). This is exploitation because the agreement between the organ provider and the buyer is not implemented as agreed and the organ provider ends getting little cash thus will feel that he or she has wasted his organ. Cheating of the individuals is one way in which the organ providers are exploited. To avoid this kind of exploitation, the agreement between the organ provider and the buyer should be honored or stop any kind of trade on human organs. Organ trade Without Consent Another form of exploitation of the poor people in organ trade is whereby the organs are removed from the individuals without their consent. This situation is mostly experienced by vulnerable groups like the homeless, migrants and illiterate people. This is another way in which the individuals are exploited without their knowledge. Due to their ignorance and poverty, the organs like the kidneys are removed without their consent and because of their poverty; they could not effectively seek the legal justice. This mostly happens when there is organ trafficking and human trafficking (Ambagtsheer & Weimar 2011). Individuals are lured into travelling to a far place and in the process, they are kidnapped and the organs removed from them without their knowledge. In this effect, the people with poverty exploited as a result of their poverty. Human Trafficking and Organ Trade Human trafficking has also increased the incidences of organ trafficking. Like any other crimes, organ trafficking is regarded as organized crime because individuals are transported from one place to another with the aim of removing the organs from them. This kind of organized crime starts with the identification of vulnerable individual, organizing transportation of the individual and then the health practitioners who will conduct the organ removal (Ambagtsheer & Weimar 2011). There are also middlemen who conduct the business between the provider of the organ and the buyer. This is organized crime and that is why most governments are taking measures The consumers also exploit the donors of the organs because they influence them to sell their organs without even considering the effects of the organ removal. Because of the poverty of the individuals, they tend to agree to sell their organs without considering the effects of the deal (Turner 2009). In most cases, the donors experience side effects after they have donated their organs and when they need the organs themselves, they cannot get one as they were removed and sold them for money. Due to their poverty, the individuals cannot get their organs back and they cannot afford to buy them. In this effect, the individuals cannot be able to get the organs, hence they can face severe stress and health disorders. Organ Trade and Lack of Information Lack of providing appropriate information by the consumer is another way in which they are exploiting the donors of the organs. Since the consumers understand the effects of providing the organs, they don’t provide adequate information to the organ providers because if they understand the effects they cannot offer to provide the organs (Turner 2009). In this effect, the poor people are exploited because they don’t have adequate information for making their own decisions whether to provide the organs or not hence they are exploited in terms of information. Measures in Organ Trade There are a number of legal regulations which guides the organ transplantation. For instance, in India, for living donation, an individual should donate the kidney without any legal formalities. This implies that an individual can donate an organ to save life, but there are no legal restrictions which are imposed on that. The relatives of the patient are allowed to donate the kidney to their offspring without any restrictions because it is meant to save life (Turner 2009). In addition, the governments are taking measures to ensure that there is no organ trafficking, which could otherwise exploit the poor people. It has been declared by many organizations and governments to ensure there is no organ trade and it is a crime to find any individual doing the trade. In case of any health emergency, individuals should be donating organs freely and without any force and there should be no selling of organs. Conclusion Trade of human organs has been a trade which has been going on the recent years. There are people who sell their organs for money. The most affected individuals are the poor in the society and they have been exploited by the consumers. It is therefore important that consumers should understand how they are exploiting the donors so that they can take appropriate measure to stop the exploitation. In the first place, the consumers deceive the poor people to donate their organs, they also don’t pay the donors as expected and in some cases the consumers force the donors to give their organs without their consent through organ trafficking. In this regard, many governments are taking up measures to eliminate organ trafficking to stop exploitation of the poor people in the society. References Ambagtsheer, F. & Weimar, W. (2011). "A Criminological Perspective: Why Prohibition of Organ Trade Is Not Effective and How the Declaration of Istanbul Can Move Forward". American Journal of Transplantation, 12(3), 571–575. Delmonico, F. L. (2009). "The Implications of Istanbul Declaration on organ trafficking and transplant tourism". Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation, 14(2), 116–119. Shimazono, Y. (2007). "The State of the International Organ Trade: A Provisional Picture Based on Integration of Available Information". Bulletin of the WHO, 85(12), 23-76. Turner, L. (2009). "Commercial Organ Transplantation in the Philippines". Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 18(2), 192–196. Read More