Should It Be Legal to Buy a Kidney?

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If prices are reasonable, would you sell your kidney to a person in struggle of life and death? Receiving a kidney from a donor is legal in almost all countries, however it is not legal to buy one for transplantation. We can live perfectly fine and healthily with only one kidney, but if both kidneys happen to fail, that is when a transplant or dialysis is needed.

Located under your ribcage and on each side of your spine, Kidneys are two organs, shaped as the size of your fist, that are an essential part of the urinary system. Kidneys are responsible for purifying the blood by removing waste products and exerting them through urine. By excreting any excess, the kidney also helps control the fluid and ion levels in the body. They also help make red blood cells.

Application of Science

What are the consequences for living without healthy kidneys?

Although your kidneys are designed to last for your entire life, however there are still some factors that can damage your kidney over time. Kidney failure is when your kidney does not function as it should. It can be caused by many reasons. One of the most common reasons that cause kidney failure to develop is due to diabetes and high blood pressure. It can also be caused by the blockage of arteries that are responsible for bringing blood to the kidneys, called renal artery stenosis. Diseases with the immune system may also cause kidney failure, due to not recognising the kidney as it’s own and attacking it thinking it’s a foreign object. (When is a Kidney Transplant Needed, 2013) 44% cases of kidney failure is caused by diabetes, and nearly 24 million people in the US have diabetes. (Kidney Disease of Diabetes, 2013) When the kidney fails, that is when a transplant or dialysis is n...

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... to sell theirs to them just for the sake of money. In the US, there are currently 96,645 people on the waiting list for kidney transplantation. Last year, 16,812 kidney transplants took place in the US, with 11,043 from deceased donors and 5,769 from living donors. However, 4,903 people died last year while waiting for the transplantation. (The National Kidney Foundation, 2013) If kidney transplantation is legalised, more people can buy and sell kidneys, therefore this will reduce the risk of dying while waiting for a kidney transplantation from a donor.

Kidney Trade Should Not be Legal - Ethically

Kidney Trade Should Not be Legal - Culturally

Organ Donation in Japan is rather rare because the Shinto traditions say that the body, once dead, is impure. The tradition also says that damaging a corpse will bring bad luck to the person who does it. Reference

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