Cause and Effect Essay on Selling Human Organs

Introduction

There has been an ongoing debate concerning if the organ selling phenomenon should be illegal or legal. As of today, it remains illegal to carry out organ selling, but individuals still chose to sell organs on a black market. Sometimes, it becomes essential to provide individuals with an appropriate reason, for the majority of the individuals involved in organ selling can be money-driven. Organ transplanting has been considered as being harmful since there is uncertainty regarding how someone's body may react afterward. Some of the individuals that undergo organ transplanting hardly survive since their body becomes unable to handle the imposed procedure or their body fails to respond well to the transplanted organ. This paper will analyze the issue of poverty as one of the factors that drive human beings to have the desire of selling their body organs. The procedure of trading in human being's organs is prohibited, and that is why it happens in the black market. People are only supposed to donate them, but these donations are not enough to meet the demand. A section of the society believes that trading in human organs should be legalized to save a large number of people who die waiting for a transplant.

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There are several reasons which cause people to resort to organ selling. Poverty usually plays a significant role when it comes to the procedure. People living below the poverty line have needs to meet, and this drives them to sell some of the body organs to acquire money. Individuals look desperate, and whenever they require finances, the selling of organs is not seen as being a contrary idea since it is the only available option for them (Huang, 2017). A significant number of parents living in poverty conditions often become embarrassed from the fact that they are unable to offer basic needs for their families, and they may resort to something which is as low as selling their organs to acquire what they would want (Moorlock, 2018). In most of the times, these individuals who are in financial difficulties are unable to obtain jobs even if they have attempted looking for one which becomes their last alternative to acquire a decent source of income to make their lives easier.

More individuals are being added to the waiting list of organ transplant each month, but the number of available donors is not meeting the population that requires a transplant. This provides another reason why individuals are involved in organ selling. They have to wait for organs transplanting while attempting to remain optimistic that there will be an available match. The duration spent waiting may become quite discouraging and overwhelming. There is estimation that around 21 individuals die every day as they wait for an organ transplant and this is attributed to the shortage of the donated organs (Bastani, 2015). This provides another reason why some individuals who need transplant begin looking for other alternatives for obtaining it. Given that there exist about 7, 000 individuals from the United States that die every year because of their inability to access a willing donor or organs that match their body, desperation may become a potential cause which is assisting in accelerating the black markets of organs (Johnston, 2017). These include some of the most common reasons which have resulted in individuals utilizing the black market as being a source where they can sell their organs.

The effect of individuals selling a given organ is that more people will be presented with the opportunity to prolong their lives. Even though the selling the human organ remains illegal, the black market for organs saves lives through alleviating the shortages of the transplant organs (Scheper-Hughes, 2009). Therefore, the saving of many lives is seen as a right end, and the act of selling an organ is defensible as being a way of attaining the positive end. There is usually a long list of patients waiting for transplants, and often the donations are usually not frequent. This makes it challenging especially for the recipients who have limited time to wait for a given organ transplant (Khan, 2018). As for the people living in poverty, some of the implications are that they will not manage to access the organs due to their high costs of buying them and they often end up dying.

Several people still disagree with the issue of selling of organs, and this provides the reason why it remains illegal. Others are for the opinion that the trading process should be allowed to operate like any other business. The first objection is that the wealthy might have the chance of acquiring transplants while the poor will not manage to access the organs when they need them and this may lead to their (Adair & Wigmore, 2011). The other objection is that people will be more concerned with the fact that they can give their organs for a fee rather than as donations.

There exist various concerns when it is determined that selling organs is made legal. The cases of organ trafficking would not be big issues since individuals may sell them and have adequate finances to run their lives and not allow people to manipulate them. There is the belief that the poor are always being taken advantage of, but if the trading process is legalized, there is a belief that the poor will manage to stand for themselves. However, this has not been the case, and it is crucial to look at the primary cause and factors that lead people to trade their body organs in the black market (Columb, 2015). When that is done, it will be understood that enabling individuals to make their decisions regarding the selling organs may assist in eliminating poverty. This may positively contribute to the working of the government since the authorities are always looking for ways that can be utilized to minimize hardship and improve the economic state. When the government supports the legalization of organ selling, individuals who chose to do this may get integrated into the community and become a contributing member of the society. The legalization of the sale of organs does not benefit only the individuals acquiring organs to survive, but also the entire nation. Less worry would be experienced when regulating the black market, and then the need for imprisoning individuals caught selling organs would decrease.

A significant number of people in society think that selling of organs should be made legal. There is a rise in the number of individuals who are suggesting that there should be an establishment of the practice of selling and buying of human organs. They argue that the monetary incentives are more likely to begin inducing individuals to give up the transplantable organs and it is a way for compensating individuals for losing a given organ. Therefore, it indicates that society is coming to identify what might be a great alternative to assist in saving lives. People are usually reluctant to donate their organs since multiple risks are associated with it and the fact that the procedure does not allow them to receive something in return. The legalization of organ selling would provide individuals the incentives of receiving a given amount of money which will be in exchange for the organ which will save lives. There should be no anything that would be wrong with having people receiving rewards given that there is a definite implication. Instead of having people waiting for an organ be donated, which may later turn out not to be the perfect match, there should be the option of individuals buying what they require to become better and continue living (Berezow, 2017).

Conclusion

The organ selling legalization would have more benefits as the phenomenon may benefit many people who are experiencing poverty. When they wish to sell their organs, there should be no regulation that bans them since it has no associated adverse effects. When considering the cause and effects, there are several reasons why people choose to engage in selling organs, one being the lack of finances. The effects of the procedure include saving of lives and the fact that people may be killed for organ harvesting. Additionally, another effect is that the procedure may fail to observe the human dignity which calls for the respect of human life. Having the monetary incentives to donate organs is an excellent idea as there are some risks associated in the process. It is the choice of individuals to sell their organs, and this choice will result in saving a life, and there is no reason to stop this from happening.

References

Adair, A. & Wigmore, S. J. (2011). Paid organ donation: the case against. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3291132/

Bastani, B. (2015). The worsening transplant organ shortage in USA; desperate times demand innovative solutions. Journal of nephropathology, 4(4), 105.

Berezow, A. (2017). Organ Trafficking: Is Selling My Kidney Really Such a Bad Thing? American Council on Science and Health. Retrieved from https://www.acsh.org/news/2017/02/10/organ-trafficking-selling-my-kidney-really-such-bad-thing-10856

Columb, S. (2015). Beneath the organ trade: a critical analysis of the organ trafficking discourse. Crime, Law & Social Change, 63(1/2), 21. Doi: 10.1007/s10611-014-9548-0

Huang, J. W. (2017). The Journey of Buying and Selling a Kidney: Is the Organ Trade Worth it?. University of Toronto Medical Journal, 94(3), 44-46.

Johnston, C. (2017). Shortage of organ donations led to 457 deaths last year, says NHS. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/04/silence-transplants-deadly-organs-shortage-nhs

Khan, M. S. (2018). Organ Transplantation, Ethics, and Role of Medical Community and Media In Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Public Health, 8(2), 61-62.

Moorlock, G. (2018). A look inside the murky world of the illegal organ trade. Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/organ-trade-dealing-donation-illegal-black-market-donors-transplants-a8461216.html

Scheper-Hughes, N. (2009). Rotten trade: Millennial capitalism, human values, and global justice in organs trafficking.