Organ Transplant Donor argument

One may be labelled selfish due to the scarcity of organs in the US. The willingness to donate an organ is considered as a humane act since many people die of lack of healthy body organs every year (Quick et. al, 2016). Kidney is one organ that has been known to be transplanted and saved lives of millions of people over the years. Some religion or a disease can be a reason why someone is not in a position to donate a body organ or even transfuse blood. The scarcity of kidney donation has led to the question; is purchasing organ a solution? Since 1998 it has been statistically proven that about 70% of the kidney transplantation come from deceased donors (Katz & Bosch, 2018). Most living donors only offer to donate their kidneys to loved ones, relatives and rarely strangers.

To minimize the shortage of kidneys in the US one major step is to adopt a system of deceased organ donation. But choosing this may not be a permanent solution to eliminate shortage of kidney transplant. Lawyers and physicians have come up with a market where “live” donors buy kidneys. Out of selfishness people end up selling their body organs debating that they are insuring themselves in case of any complications that may occur after the procedure or in future. Donating a body organ should be personal decision but the fact that someone is probably dying somewhere should be a good reason to offer a body organ to a patient. Saving a single life as a positive step toward saving lives. Having the knowledge about the registration program and choosing not to register without any restriction can be considered as an act of selfishness.

Some people opt to donate to their friends and family instead of looking for a match on the waiting list. They were hesitate to allow the procedure to continue but since the son had already registered let them no much choice. The parents were disappointed when they found out that the son’s heart was donated to a 72year old man which the father thought that the physicians had “wasted” their son’s heart and choose not to know the other recipients of their son’s organs (Lhomme et. al, 2017). Someone would hear the parent’s story and think they are selfish and others would have agreed with the fact that it was okay not to be in with the idea of their son’s organs being donated. It has been statistically proven that in every 10 minutes a person is added into the waiting list and about 18 people die every day because of lack of an organ donor.

Some people also may not be willing to donate since they believe that there is a black market where people sell body organs and tissues. This market is said to be collecting people’s organs and then selling them to physicians or to patients who need organ transplant. The media has also created a misconception on this topic. Media groups unfold false stories showing how physicians treat their patients after admitting them to the hospital and take them to surgery. There are a lot of misunderstanding on the donor’s whereabouts when admitted in a hospital. People should be ready to save lives but under their own terms. If one is willing to donate the better if not then one can decide not to. References Rana, A. Gruessner, A. Agopian, V.

Bardiaux, L. Abravanel, F. Gallian, P. Kamar, N. Izopet, J. Hansen, S. L. Boos, M. Attitudes towards brain death and conceptions of the body in relation to willingness or reluctance to donate: results of a student survey before and after the German transplantation scandals and legal changes.  Journal of Public Health, 25(3), 249-256. R. Reynolds-Tylus, T. Bosch, D. Morgan, S. E.