The organ transplant list has grown to exceed 120,000 in the United States and continues to grow everyday (Organ Donation: is an opt-in or opt-out System Better). There is a growing demand for organs for people in need as eighteen people die everyday waiting for an organ transplant (organ donation: is an opt-in or opt-out system better). The US is looking for ways to increase the donation rate. One of the proposed ways to raise the donation rate is the opt-out or presumed consent option. The opt-out system is different than the current, opt-in system the US uses where nobody is presumed an organ donor unless they specifically ask to be. The opt-out system assumes that a person is an organ donor and upon death, their organs are harvested …show more content…
One reason people are apprehensive about becoming an organ donor is that they are scared doctors will not try as hard to save their life if they’re in a near death situation. Fifty-two percent of people surveyed incorrectly believe that doctors would let them die to harvest their organs instead of saving them (Presumed Consent). For a person’s organs to be donated they must be found to be brain dead by a physician, not in a coma as some people believe. If a person is in a come it is possible for that person to recover from their injuries. However when a person is brain dead, it is not possible for the person to recover; they are considered to be dead and that is the only state in which a person’s organs shall be harvested. The reason that the opt-out system should be used can be broken down into three main reasons: it would be more efficient than the current opt-in system, individuals still have their right to object to organ donation and choose to opt-out, and individuals who oppose organ donation should be burdened with the task of registering their request to not donate their organs upon …show more content…
After five years of infrastructure changes the rate more than doubled to 27.2 per million population. Austria put a heavy focus on educating the public on organ donation in this time period which can be contributed to their outstanding donation rate of 99.98% (the highest donation rate in the world). It is clear that the United States has a major shortage of organs to be donated to people in need. Some sort of action has to be taken to solve this problem. The solution that has been the most effective in other countries has been converting to the opt-out system. Significantly higher donation rates can be linked to countries choosing to use the opt-out system. Should the opt-out system come to be used in the United States, it would be more effective, it would still give individual freedom, and it would only slightly burden a minority of people that object to organ
However, Saunders begins his argument by arguing that the current opt-in system leads to a shortage in the supply of organs and this is a major concern. This results in numerous people who need organs dying while on waiting lists and also suffering while waiting for transplant as one of their organs is failing. This is Saunders’ first premise to support his conclusion to put an opt-out system in place. By putting an opt-out system in place, this will contribute to an increase in the supply of organs.
In her article, Satel criticizes the current methods governing organ sharing in the United States, and suggests that the government should encourage organ donation, whether it was by providing financial incentives or other compensatory means to the public. Furthermore, the author briefly suggests that the European “presumed consent” system for organ donation might remedy this shortage of organs if implicated in the States.
...nts will die before a suitable organ becomes available. Numerous others will experience declining health, reduced quality of life, job loss, lower incomes, and depression while waiting, sometimes years, for the needed organs. And still other patients will never be placed on official waiting lists under the existing shortage conditions, because physical or behavioral traits make them relatively poor candidates for transplantation. Were it not for the shortage, however, many of these patients would be considered acceptable candidates for transplantation. The ban of organ trade is a failed policy costing thousands of lives each year in addition to unnecessary suffering and financial loss. Overall, there are more advantages than disadvantages to legalizing the sale of organs. The lives that would be saved by legalizing the sale of organs outweighs any of the negatives.
The question arises about the ethics of making organ donation mandatory. From religions to freedom to fear, there are many pros and cons between the legality of the situation, but it all boils down to the freedom citizens have been given, which makes mandatory organ donation unethical. Lately, this has been an increasingly debated topic worldwide, as many people question the ethics of making organ donation mandatory. Organ transplantation is a surgical procedure, where a failing or damaged organ is replaced with a new one, either from a living or deceased donor. Any part of the body that performs a specialized function is classified as an organ. People can become organ donors by listing it on their driver’s license or signing a document with
Wolfe, R., Merion, R., Roys, E., & Port, F. (2009). Trends in Organ Donation and Transplantation in the United States, 1998-2007. American Journal of Transplantation , 9, 869-878.
Oz (New York Heart Transplant surgeon) says “they (the families of the brain dead patient) can’t deal with the fear, however irrational, that the true end of their loved one will come when the heart is removed” (Dr. Oz, 7). This premise leads up to the main claim since it states why there aren’t enough donors in the world and why there is a long transplant waiting list too. Also it helps explain that even though the patient is brain dead, you should still treat them as a patient and have some
Death is an unavoidable factor in life. We are all expected to die, but for some of the people the end does not have to come too soon. Joanna MacKay in her article Organ Sales Will Save discuss how the legalization of the organs sale, possesses the capability of saving thousands of lives. MacKay in her thesis stipulates that the government should not ban the human organs sale rather they should regulate it (MacKay, 2004). The thesis statement has been supported by various assertions with the major one being that it shall save lives. The author argues that with the legalized sale of organs, more people would be eager to donate their kidneys.
It is clear that a large demand for organs exists. People in need of organ donations are transferred to an orderly list. Ordinarily, U.S. institutions have an unprofitable system which provides organs through a list of individuals with the highest needs; however, these organs may never come. A list is
The main advantage of this medical surgery is that it is conceived for the purpose of saving people’s lives – one organ can save eight lives. For a recipient, it means it’s a second chance at life of not having to be dependent on expensive routine treatments to survive and live a normal lifestyle. The family of a deceased donor could take consolation thinking that their loved ones did not die in vain, rather they continue to live on other people’s life. The only downsides to organ donation would be the misconceptions. Families are often believe that the donor’s bodies were kept on life support while removing the tissues which is not entirely the case. Surgeons do not remove organs or tissues unless he is pronounced as brain-dead or dead. Another downside of this procedure is the fact that the donor can’t get to choose who receives the organ, however, there are organizations that arrange a meeting between the recipient and the donor though this can occur on rare cases (Emory Health Care). This study will review the practices of organ donation and its future medical advancements.
In the United States, there are over one hundred thousand people on the waiting list to receive a life-saving organ donation, 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 (O'Reilly, 2009). As a result, some propose radical new ideas to meet these demands, including the selling of human organs. Financial compensation for organs, which is illegal in the United States, is considered repugnant to many. The solution to this ethical dilemma isn’t found in a wallet; there are other alternatives available to increase the number of donated organs which would be morally and ethically acceptable.
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).
In this paper I will be using the normative theory of utilitarianism as the best defensible approach to increase organ donations. Utilitarianism is a theory that seeks to increase the greatest good for the greatest amount of people (Pense2007, 61). The utilitarian theory is the best approach because it maximizes adult organ donations (which are the greater good) so that the number of lives saved would increase along with the quality of life, and also saves money and time.
The Importance of Organ Donation Each day approximately 6,300 people die and what makes this haunting is that presently there are 83,513 people waiting for organs to be donated, yet each day 17 people die because they do not receive a transplant (http://www.donatelife.net/facts_stats.html). These statistics show that people who are waiting for organ transplants have a good chance at being saved and get what they need. The sad truth is though, because of the lack of people willing to donate organs, many people will continue to wait for organs to save their lives. ? Waiting lists of patients for organ transplants become longer as the need for transplantable organs increases? (Sheehy 1).
I believe it is clear to say that most, if not every one of us is aware of the choice given to us at the DMV to be put on the back of our driver licenses about whether or not we chose to become an organ donor, but this choice is for when we have already passed. See, what we may not even be aware of is that people everywhere are trafficked for the sole purpose of their organs and these people do NOT consent to the removal of their organs. To my knowledge, often times these people undergo surgeries for the removal of their organs without any anesthesia, so they are fully awake and aware of what is happening to them. Most times these surgeries aren’t even done by professionals or with ‘clean’ tools. In other cases, many people around the world are in such need of money that they themselves will voluntarily sell their organs in a place known as the black market. While some are going to the black market to voluntarily sell their organs, others are going there to buy organs that they or a loved one are in need of, because often times what happens in hospitals is people get desperate and impatient waiting around for a donor organ to show up and well, some just can’t afford to waste the time.
Finally, public awareness regarding how to go about organ donation should be drastically improved upon. This could be done by advertising how to go about donation, and what affect donation has on other peoples lives. Awareness campaigns and advertisements have has a massive positive effect on blood donation. I believe this method can also be utilised for Organ donation, and the same positive effect achieved.