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DeliaReif
Ms.Gardner
English10H/Period4
6May2016
ThePriceofLife
Organdonationsaremadeallaroundtheworld.Everydayorgansaredonatedtowaiting
recipientsacrosstheglobe.Theselifesavingdonationseffectyourfriends,families,and
neighborsandareimportantintoday'ssociety.InEmeryville,Californialivedalittlegirlbythe
nameofKhalieghyaDandieEvans.Khalieghywhosufferedfrombiliaryatresia,acondition
thatblocksthetubesthatcarrybilefromherlivertohergallbladder.Longstoryshort,she
desperatelyrequiredalivertransplant.Herfamilyworriedshewouldneverreceiveone.When
shewasfivemonthsoldshewasgiftedaliver.Nothingshortofamiracle,hermotherwas
thankfulthatthefamilywhohadlostalovedonewasabletomaketheconsciousdecisionto
saveherdaughterandperhapsahandfulofotherslives(LifeStories:AChancetobeLike
OtherChildren).Organdonationisawonderfulgift.Agiftissomethingyougivesomeone.A
giftissomethingyouhandtosomeonewithnocharge.Agiftisfree.Organdonationisagift.
Organdonationtakeshealthyorgansandtissuesfromonepersonfortransplantationintoanother.
Organdonationisahugeblessingtomanyfamiliesaroundtheworld.Onaverage79people
receiveorgansaday.Unfortunately22peopledieeachdayfromnotreceivinganorgansoon
enough(TheNeedisReal).Onaveragepeoplecanwaitthreeyearsonanorgandonationlist.
In1968,TheUniformAnatomicalGiftActwasputinorder.Thelawprovidedthelegal
foundationuponwhichhumanorgansandtissuescanbedonatedfortransplantationby


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executionofadocumentofgiftwithaperson'sconsentofcourse(TheNeedisReal).
Iam
proudtosaythatonmylicenseitwillsaythatIamaregisteredorgandonor.So,ifIwas
pronouncedbraindead,myorganswouldbeputtogooduse.
Thesaleofhumanorgansshould
notbelegalized.Somethingaspricelessaslifecannotbebought.Thesaleofhumanorgansis
unethical,dissatisfying,andimmoralthereforeitshouldnotbelegalized.
Certainlyitisagreed,thatlegalizingthesaleoforganswouldcreateanincentivefor
donorsandthustherewouldbenomoreorgans.Moreorgansmeansmoresurvivorsandless
deathsthewholepointofthisargument.Thiswouldalsocreateasystemwherepeoplewould
nolongerneedtobuyorgansofftheblackmarket.Asofrightnow
Evenwiththecurrent
systemwhereweaskpeopletocomeforwardoutofthegoodnessoftheirheart,weareclearly
notgettingenoughorgans,"saidManns(Komarnicki).Ifthesaleoforganswaslegalizedmore
peoplewouldbeinclinedtogivetheirorgansbecausetheywouldreceivesomesortof
compensationmeaningwewouldbeabletokeepmorepatientsalive,theultimategoal.Itis
greatthatthesupplyoforganswouldincrease,andmorepeoplewhoneedtransplantscan
survivehowever,theideaisnotethicallycorrectandneitheristhesellingofyourbody.
Thepurposeofbuyingandsellingorgansstemsfromamoralconscience,theideathat
wecouldkeepmorepeoplewhoneedorgansalive,butthemoralityofthesituationissomething
manypeoplearentwillingtosacrifice.Nevertheless,organdonationiscalleddonationfora
reason.Organsshouldnotbesold.Thisimpliesthewealthy,thosewhocanaffordtheorgans,
shouldliveandthepoorshouldbeputonthebackburner.Anarticlefromthe
HarvardGazette
evensaysthatthepoorwouldbeexploitedthroughthis(Ireland).Obviouslybuyingorgans,is
notaneverydayluxury.Theethicsofthesituationarehighlycontroversial
[Transplanttourism


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inChina]isatotallyandpurelyviscousenterprise,wherepeopleallovertheworlddesperateto
haveanorgangotobuyanorgan....Thewholethingisterrifying."saidDr.IraKodner[a
colorectalsurgeonanddirectoroftheWashingtonUniversityCenterfortheStudyofEthics]and
HumanValue(
Komarnicki).
Fromtheevidenceshownitisbelievedthattheethicsofselling
yourorgansorbuyingthemiswrong.Thebuyingandsellingoforganscanleadtomajor
dysfunctionsinsocietyandisoveralljustnotright.Peoplearedesperatewhenitcomestosaving
thelivesoftheirlovedonesandtherichfamiliesshouldnothaveanorganfirst,justbecause
theyarewealthy.Conclusively,organtradeandsellingiswrongandunethical,thosewhoarein
needofanorganshouldhavefairchancestolivenomattertheirfinancialstatus.
Thelackoftrustpeoplehavefordoctorsmayscarepeopleintonotregisteringforthe
donor[seller]list(Knox).Thisisacommonfearamongstpeoplewhoarethinkingabout
donatingtheirorgans.Now,doubleyourworriesbecausemoneyisinvolved.Thismeansthe
stakesareevenhigher.Duringadebateontheprosandconsofmakingthesaleoforganslegal,
JamesChildressofferedareasonwhypeoplemaybescaredtoregisteriftheyarecompensated
(Knox).Toillustrate,Childressprovidesaworrisomescenarioinwhichpeoplewhohavebeen
prematurelycompensatedorwillbeaftertheirdeathwon'tsigndonationcardsinfearthatthey
willnotgetwhattheyhavebeenpromised(Knox).Inaddition,somepeoplemayalsoworrythat
theywillbepronounceddeadprematurelybecausetheyhavealreadybeencompensatedor
becausetheirnameisonthedonationlist.Thisfearofdoctorsandthemistrustoftheir
decisionshasnowbeenbroadcastedonnationaltelevision.TVshowssuchas
GreysAnatomy
exploretheideaofbraindeathwhenmaincharacterDerekShepherdalsoknownas
McDreamy
sufferedamajorbraininjuryfromacaraccident(Wen).Theincompetencefromthe


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doctorsultimatelyledtohisdeath.TheydidnottakeaheadCTscanandbeforetheyrealized
hisextensivebraininjurieshewasbraindead(Whitney).Anotherproofofthisdistrustis
illustratedina2002Australianstudyinwhichitwasreportedbysomeparticipantsthatthey
wouldntdonatetheorgansoftheirnextofkinifhisorherheartwerestillbeating,evenifthey
wereproclaimedbraindead(Wen).Meaningtheystillthoughttherecouldbeachancethat
theirlovedonewouldwakeuponeday.Obviously,theseworriesmaynotbetruebut,the
compensationdonors[sellers]receiveonlyheightenstheconflictandcouldcreateafearinthe
sellersmindcausingthemtonotwanttoregister.Asaresult,lessorganswouldbeavailable
therefore,havingtheoppositeeffectofthebuyingandsellingoforgans.
Iforgansellingwaslegalizeditmaynothaveapositiveeffectonthenumberoforgans
available(Knox).Infactorgansellingmayendupdiminishingtheorganmarket.Through
researchithasbeenshownthattheremaynotbeanincreaseinthenumberoforgansdonated
eachyear(Knox).Also,ifyouaresoldanorganontheblackmarketyouarenotguaranteedit
willwork.Inparticular,thereisthethoughtofamodernconsumer,IfIcanbuyit,whygiveit?
(Knox).Similarly,theideathatifpeopleknowthatorgansarebeingsold,theymaythinkthereis
enoughtogoaroundandnotwanttodonate.Forexample,

InEngland,wherethesaleofblood
wasnotallowed,ratesofdonationwereconsiderablyhigherthantheU.S.,wherethesaleof
bloodwasallowed"(Knox).Also,somepeoplearesodisgustedwiththeideathatevenifmoney
wasinvolvedtheystillwouldntdoit(Wen).FromanotherperspectiveFrancisL.Delmonico[a
professorofSurgeryatHarvardMedicalSchool]alsosaysstudiessuggestthataprofitbased
internationaltransplantationmarketwilldestroyaltruismandreducethenumberofkidney
donationsfrombothlivedonorsandfromcadavers(Ireland).Itisasadconclusionbutwemust


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faceit.Ifthesaleoforgansislegalized,thenumberofdonationswilldescend.Conclusively,
thereisevidencethatlegalizingthesaleoforganswouldincreasethenumberoflivessaved.So
whycompromiseandquestionyourethicsforsomethingthatmayenduphavinganegative
effect?Therefore,weshouldnotlegalizethesellingoforgans.
Thebuyingandsellingoforgansshouldnotbelegalizedbecausetheeffectsonsocietys
emotionalstabilitywouldbealter.Thebuyingandsellingoforgansshouldnotbelegalized
becauseitisunfair,unethical,andunwarranted.Atonepointinhistory,therewasatimewhen
onecouldwipeonessinsawayandessentiallybuyintoheaven.Thismeantthattherichcould
gotoheavenbutthepoorcouldnot.Once,theyrealizedthebackwardnessofthisidea,itwas
takenoutofeffect.Similarly,thebuyingandsellingoforgansputstherichinfrontofthepoor
allowingthosewhocanaffordorganstheopportunityandthechancetolivebeforethepoor.
Let'skeeporgandonation,whatitwassupposedtobe,adonation.Onceagain,thegiftoflifeis
pricelessandcannotbebought.


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WorksCited
Ireland,Corydon.Ethicists,philosophersdiscusssellingofhumanorgans.
HarvardGazette
.
HarvardNewsOffice,14Feb.2008.Web.4May2016.
Knox,Richard.ShouldWeLegalizetheMarketforHumanOrgans?
intelligencedebates
.npr,
21May2008.Web.2May2016.
Komarnicki,Jamie."'CashForKidneys'GainingAcceptance."
CalgaryHerald
.28Sep.2012:p.
A.1.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.02May2016.
LifeStories:AChancetoBeJustLikeOtherChildren.
organdonor.gov
.TheU.S.Department
ofHealthandHumanServices,n.d.Web.2May2016.
TheNeedisReal:Data.
organdonor.gov
.TheU.S.DepartmentofHealthandHuman
Services,n.d.Web.2May2016.
Wen,Tiffanie.WhyDontMorePeopleWanttoDonateTheirOrgans?
TheAtlantic
.The
AtlanticMonthlyGroup,10Nov.2014.Web.2May2016.
Whitney,Alyse.GreysAnatomyRecap:IsDerekDeadorAliveAfterTerribleCarCrash?
FindOutMcDreamysFate!
USWeekly
.N.p.,23Apr.2015.Web.5May2016.


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