Organ
transplant donation in dire demand
Ashley Thomas
In
Brooklyn, N.Y., an ill 48 year-old woman
hears the life-shattering words that
if she doesn’t find a new kidney,
she will surely die. This leads her to
desperately seek a kidney for transplantation,
by any means necessary.
In the same city is a poverty-stricken man. He hears that selling your organs
is highly profitable, and it seems like the “opportunity of a lifetime.”
According to the New York Times on May 23, 2004, this is becoming a common
scenario.
Contemporary Economic Policy Oct. 2004 explains the number of people on the
waiting list stands at 85,000 and “less than half of these people are
expected to live long enough to receive the needed organs because expected
waiting times are now beginning to stretch into years. At least 16 lives are
lost each day as a direct consequence of this shortage.”
Organ donation compensation offers a way to lessen the burden on the medical
community and increase the amount of lives saved.
The fundamental problem with current organ donation is the primary sources
come from cadavers.
This limited supply results in a shortage of organ donations and the emergence
of a black market.
First, there is a dramatic shortage of organ donations in the United States.
According to the joint commission on accreditation of health care organizations,
Nov. 7, 85,000 Americans are on the transplant list. National Geographic News
Jan. 16, 2004 reports more than 6,000 Americans died waiting for organs. The
Courier Mail Sept. 23, said even in Australia, which has the world’s
best record for successful organ transplants, the donor market has been swamped
with more than 600,000 new requests for transplants. The dramatic shortage
of organ donations has facilitated the emergence of a black market in Australia.
There has never been a documented case of actual living organ theft, but the
elicit sale of organs is well recorded.
The Turkish black market averages $5,000 a kidney and in India you can expect
to receive $3,000.
Sunday Telegraph May 22, tells the story of Ali Hammeed, a taxi driver in Iraq,
who sold his kidney for about $1,400. The article goes on to explain the black
market trade for organs in Iraq is one of its major growing industries. Other
countries are experiencing similar phenomena.
The reasons these problems exist are due to restrictive donation laws. In 1984,
the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) was passed which sets the legal price
at zero. Any payment more than zero is considered a crime. The regulations
of organ acquisition for donation is strictly regulated by federal and state
legislative bodies. The aforementioned Contemporary Economic Policy outlines
them.
“
First, suitable cadaveric donors must be identified. Such donors must die within
a hospital. They also must have healthy, well-functioning organs and be free
of infection at the time of death. Donor must be free of cancer.”
There used to be an age limit of 50-55 years of age, but now the age limit
has been dropped.
Additionally, the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of 1967 states permission from
family members is not needed if prior to death, the deceased consented to their
organ donation. The hospital where the death occurs is obligated to carry out
the deceased one’s wishes and remove suitable organs. In cases where
the deceased expressed the wish to donate organs, family permission is still
often sought. This causes less organ collection because families often deny
organ donation of their deceased loved one. Also, there is a social stigma
against selling yours or a loved ones organs.
Marrow Mathews Jr. the health policy director for the national center for policy
analysis said in’Insight Magazine’Jan. 9, 1995 , the donation laws
of the United States are based on the assumption that organ donations must
be made as an act of altruism. This eliminates any ability for compensation.
Three steps can overcome these causes. First, federal law needs to be amended
to allow compensation. William Russle Robinson Pennsylvania state representative,
argues on his personal Web site there ought to be a program to offset the expenses
of family donors. Asking your representative to support Robinson’s measures
is a realistic way to make compensation available for donors. Besides pressuring
the federal government, you can give support to organizations seeking to allow
organ donation compensation. Groups like organgiving.org and LifeSharers, actively
petition for legal change and provide support for individuals in need.
Finally, personal action could make a significant difference in organ donation.
Saying you’re an organ donor through the Department of Motor Vehicles
is a well established options that everyone should take part in. The Los Angeles
Times Oct. 24, 2005, suggests a more contemporary alternative.
Matchingdonors.com is a Web site where you can sign up to create a unique donation
relationship with another person.
Organ donation compensation is a realistic and beneficial way to overcome the
problems caused by restrictive federal legislation. Perhaps that 48-year-old
woman in Brooklyn, upon hearing she needs a new kidney, will not feel as if
this is a death sentence. Organ donation compensation offers her hope in a
time when she desperately needs it.
Ashley Thomas is a freshman electrical engineering major.
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