Black Market Organs

1464 Words3 Pages

What if someone offered you $30,000 for your best kidney, would you take the money? You could profit $30,000 by not even doing anything but lying on a table to have your kidney extracted. It sounds like a good deal until you find out the surgery will be performed by an unlicensed surgeon, so the chance of your acquiring disease is high. Also, your risk of dying is heightened, do you take the chance? In discussions of black market organs, one hand would argue that the patient would get the organ in a timely manner without being waitlisted. On the other hand, people would argue about the state of the organ and the procedure being done by an unlicensed surgeon. No matter how desperate an individual may be to obtain an organ, it is better to receive an organ through a legal way to ensure safety. The black market is a development that provides services outside of the law. All trades are done without the government being involved, in outside government-sanctioned channels. This escapes the government price controls and taxes on the item. While this seems like a profitable agency, many problems lie within this system. By participating in the black market, everyone runs the risk of fraud. People don’t normally have direct contact with the buyer or seller; therefore, it’s common to receive a product with defaults. This can be especially harmful if we are talking about an organ. Few people wouldn’t hesitate to participate in the black market for products such as concert tickets or weapons due to efficiency and cost, but the question is if it is reliable with important merchandise like an organ. The World Health Organization estimates that, “one fifth of the 70,000 kidneys transplanted worldwide every year come from the black market.” Thi... ... middle of paper ... ...trieve&contentSet=GSRC&version=1.0>. Karen A. Hudson. "The Selling of Body Parts Does Not Benefit the Poor." At Issue: Is Selling Body Parts Ethical?. Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Carthage Central High School Library. 5 May. 2014 Sam Vaknin. "The Sale of Body Parts Should Be Regulated." At Issue: Is Selling Body Parts Ethical?. Ed. Christina Fisanick. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Carthage Central High School Library. 5 May. 2014 .

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