The buyer needs an organ. The seller needs cash. Two sides of the same coin, both parties are fueled by desperation to survive. With only one country in some way regulating its organ market economy (Iran), all other sales occur in the ever-expanding illegal trafficking network on a global scale. The World Health Organization defines organ trafficking as: The recruitment, transport, transfer, harboring, or receipt of living or deceased persons or their cells, tissues, or organs, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving to, or the receiving by, a third party of payments or benefits to achieve the transfer of control over the potential donor, for the purpose of exploitation by the removal of cells, tissues, and organs for transplantation (2009). Organ trafficking has become an emerging global health issue within the past fifty to sixty years, and has been associated with countries across the world, from regions of Asia to the Middle East, Latin America, South Africa, Eastern Europe, and the United States. The relationship begins with the buyer and seller, but many others are quick to get involved, from surgeons to traffickers to the brokers who serve as middlemen in the trade (Scheper-Hughes 2013). But what exactly is driving this recent surge in illegal trafficking? Beyond the fact that recipients simply have a greater chance of survival when their organs come from living donors, and that—with the exception of Iran—there is no regulated legal market for organ trade, nearly every driving factor that has contributed to this black market boom can be traced back to tightly linked growing divides: (1... ... middle of paper ... ...organs trafficking.” Body & Society 7(2-3): 31-62. Accessed January 9, 2014. doi: 10.1177/1357034X0100700203. ---. 2007. “The tyranny of the gift: sacrificial violence in living donor transplants.” American Journal of Transplantation 7: 507-11. Accessed January 9, 2014. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-6143.2006.01679.x. ---. 2013. “Organ trafficking: a protected crime.” The Conversation, September 3. http://theconversation.com/organ-trafficking-a-protected-crime-16178. World Health Organization, “WHO Guiding Principles on Human Cell, Tissue, and Organ Transplantation,” 1991, amended May 2010. http://www.who.int/transplantation/Guiding_PrinciplesTransplantation_WHA63.22en.pdf. World Health Organization, “Global Glossary of Terms and Definitions on Donation and Transplantation,” 2009. http://www.who.int/transplantation/activities/GlobalGlossaryonDonationTransplantation.pdf.
First of all, we can assess issues concerning the donor. For example, is it ever ethically acceptable to weaken one person’s body to benefit another? It has to be said that the practiced procedures are not conducted in the safest of ways, which can lead to complications for both donors and recipients (Delmonico 1416). There are also questions concerning of informed consent: involved donors are not always properly informed about the procedure and are certainly not always competent to the point of fully grasping the situation (Greenberg 240). Moral dilemmas arise for the organ recipient as well. For instance, how is it morally justifiable to seek and purchase organs in foreign countries? Is it morally acceptable to put oneself in a dangerous situation in order to receive a new organ? Some serious safety issues are neglected in such transactions since the procedures sometimes take place in unregulated clinics (Shimazono 959). There is also the concept of right to health involved in this case (Loriggio). Does someone’s right to health have more value than someone else’s? Does having more money than someone else put your rights above theirs? All of these questions have critical consequences when put into the context of transplant tourism and the foreign organ trade. The answers to these questions are all taken into account when answering if it is morally justifiable to purchase
People consider trafficking to be only in the form of sex, but trafficking actually has many different categories. Human trafficking is defined as people who sell or trade their bodies, or other people’s bodies for different purposes like, forced labor, sex, forced marriage, and even organs. Trafficking of any kind is considered a crime in the United States and every other country in the world except Iran because it is a violation of human rights. Although trafficking is illegal, it still takes place all over the world and statistics say that trafficking brings in approximately 32 billion dollars of international trade per year. Out of all the different forms of trafficking, organ trafficking is the most dangerous. The compensation of organ donors was legal until 1984 when the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 was put into place. Many people turn to buying organs because there is a shortage of organs and some patients may be on the organ transplant list for years. Because there is such a shortage of available organs for transplantation, many people turn to buying or selling organs on the black market illegally. If trafficking was legalized with regulations, there would rarely be a need to use the black market. Even though the 32 billion dollars that the black market makes each year would rapidly diminish, the money would be spent in other places, and legally. Many people argue that a human life should be invaluable but by legalizing the trafficking of organs, the list for organ transplants would slowly disappear. If the sale of organs was legal with heavy regulations, many more organs would be donated; therefore, many more lives would be saved all over the world.
Critics of kidney sales argue that impoverished people are more likely to sell their organs than the rich. (Matas, 2004) They claim that the practice of kidney sales is injustice since vulnerable vendors are targeted and that they may suffer from lengthy health problems after the operations which may eventually lead to the loss of jobs. (Bramstedt, 2010)
27 million people all over the world are currently being forced into human trafficking or modern day slavery, 161 countries including the US will be affected by human trafficking. 1 million children will be exploited by the commercial sex trade each year. Sex trafficking began in the 1700s in the United States. It hasn’t been stopped because it continues to increase over the years. Even though the law enforcement and people around the world could be strong enough to stop human trafficking, I believe this situation needs to be more focused on and stopped as soon as possible. Because Human Trafficking is increasing rapidly and Oklahoma is a cross-way for sex trafficking due to the interstates such as I-35, I-40 and I-44.
Human trafficking is a health care issue in that health care is often central to restoring the life and well-being of the trafficking survivor. The Family Violence Prevention Fund (2005) surveyed trafficking victims and health care providers and found that medical needs ranked second after housing and before advocacy and legal help in trafficking victims' needs (ibid.) (Kempadoo, Sanghera & Pattanaik, 2015). Regardless of the form of their exploitation, people who are trafficked suffer severe abuse that often results in outward physical injuries. Victims may suffer malnutrition, broken bones and teeth, facial injuries, and infected open wounds in addition to infectious diseases. Many victims are of childbearing age and have no access to birth
Imagine being a hospitalized patient waiting for an organ donation to save your life, knowing that the amount of people in need of organs outweigh the amount of donors. This is a sad reality for many people across the United States due to the lack of available organs. The debate over monetary payment to donors to increase available organs has been an ongoing fight for over 30 years. In 1984 an act was passed to put tight restrictions on organ sales through Task Force on Organ Procurement and Transplantation, which resulted in a depleted amount of available organs. This act that changed the organ sales industry was called the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA). NOTA was originally created to stop exploitative and illegal sales between donors and patients, but turned into a method of decreasing organ availability for patients around the world. I explored two articles over the complications of organ sale legality to discover if the monetary payment of organs should be outlawed. The first article focuses on the different market factors that affect the public opinion and the second explores the financial incentive declined caused by organ donations.
Global migration is important because this means that people from different cultures and backgrounds are coming together like never before (pg 394). Human trafficking, which involves selling and buying humans as products, can affect the family in many ways (pg 396). In cases of illegal adoptions, children generally flow from underdeveloped countries to highly developed countries (pg 396). Women are trafficked for prostitution and forced marriage purposes, both of which have a high potential to disturb the family unit (pg 396). The illegal global traffic of human organs enable people in highly developed countries who need organs to exploit the poor, who must sacrifice one or more of their organs in order to survive with the money they receive for their organs (pg
A poor man is desperate to make money to feed his family in an undeveloped country. A rich man is sick and needs a kidney transplant in order to survive. He is willing to pay whatever it takes to save his life. A greedy man acts as a middleman, or broker, between the two men and goes home with a profit of thousands of dollars. Organ brokers are most common for organizing kidney transplants and other non-essential organs. However, occasionally organ brokers will bribe the family of a deceased for essential organs such as heart and liver.
The uncontainable despair of the weeping and screaming parents entering a room full of body bags containing the altered remains of their children. In a room drained with blood and surrounding fridges for the maintenance of the ejected organs, everything seems miserably surreal(“Children Kidnapped for Their Organs”). This is only one of the discovered cases of the daily dozens of people killed for organ harvestation. Adding up to ten thousand illegal operations in 2012 which translates to hourly sales (Samadi). These abhorrent acts add up as crimes against humanity which are triggered by a numerous amount of reasons; in order to stop these constant atrocities we must uncover the root of the causes.
Organ donation is the surgical removal of organs or a tissue of one person to be transplanted to another person for the purpose of replacing a failed organ damaged by disease or injury. Organs and tissues that can be transplanted are liver, kidneys, pancreas, heart, lungs, intestines, cornea, middle ear, skin, bone, bone marrow, heart valves, and connective tissues. Everyone regardless of age can consider themselves as potential donors. After one dies, he is evaluated if he is suited for organ donation based on their medical history and their age as determined by the Organ Procurement Agency (Cleveland Clinic).
Organ donations are crucial for people in emergency situations. For years organ donations have saved the lives of millions. The problem with people needing organs is that there are not enough organs to be supplied to everyone who needs it. There are many people who die because they are not able to obtain lifesaving organs. The need for organs exceeds the supply given. Thus, leading me to ask this essential question, “Should organ donation be a part of the market?” To support this question I have prepared three supportive claims, but since my answer is no my reasons will revolve around this argument. First, I will state why I do not agree with such a thing, and then I will support my claim by stating why it is so bad, and to end my paper I will state what place(s) legalizes trade.
Organ Sale is the exchange of human organs for money. This topic is very debatable because some people view organ sales as morally wrong mainly due to the view that only the wealthy will be able to afford the purchase of organs. In addition, many believe those living in poverty will be taken advantage of because they need the money. The selling of human organs can be beneficial to everybody and should be legal. By making organ sales legal it will give individual donors a better financial life, create a safer environment for those who sell their organs, make organ transplants available to more people and most importantly will save many lives.
The State of the International Organ Trade. (2007, December). Retrieved April 24, 2011, from World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/8512/06-039370/en/#R43
One of the most important and prevalent issues in healthcare discussed nowadays is the concern of the organ donation shortage. As the topic of organ donation shortages continues to be a growing problem, the government and many hospitals are also increasingly trying to find ways to improve the number of organ donations. In the United States alone, at least 6000 patients die each year while on waiting lists for new organs (Petersen & Lippert-Rasmussen, 2011). Although thousands of transplant candidates die from end-stage diseases of vital organs while waiting for a suitable organ, only a fraction of eligible organ donors actually donate. Hence, the stark discrepancy in transplantable organ supply and demand is one of the reasons that exacerbate this organ donation shortage (Parker, Winslade, & Paine, 2002). In the past, many people sought the supply of transplantable organs from cadaver donors. However, when many ethical issues arose about how to determine whether someone is truly dead by either cardiopulmonary or neurological conditions (Tong, 2007), many healthcare professionals and transplant candidates switched their focus on obtaining transplantable organs from living donors instead. As a result, in 2001, the number of living donors surpassed the number of cadaver donors for the first time (Tong, 2007).
Organ donation is when someone who has died, has previously given permission for their organs to be taken from their body and transplanted into someone else?s who because of some sort of medical condition, can not survive off of their own. At the time of death one?s heart, intestine, kidneys, liver, lung, pancreas, pancreas islet cell, heart valves, bone, skin, corneas, veins, cartilage, and tendons can all be used for transplantation. Choosing to donate organs is beneficial to many people, morally the right thing to do when you pass on and, is also one of the most important ways for survival of many people.