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Maria Fernandez
Ms. Gardner
English 10 2
30 April 2014
Donation is key:
The Legalization of Selling Human Organs
Every day, 17 Americans die waiting for an organ transplant to save their life (qtd. in
Liberty). That sums up to 6205 deaths per year only in the United States from those dying
waiting for organs. Organ donation is the process of donating ones organs to be transplanted
into another persons body for their use when one of their organs has failed or malfunctioned.
The legality of selling organs could greatly impact the system of organ donation, or selling, as a
whole. The system of organ donations would have to be reorganized by The United Network for
Organ Sharing (UNOS) to create a cost for organs, how the selling would work, (people
privately selling their kidneys, or the necessity to keep all transactions in one organization) and
more new configurations to the system. This would take a tremendous amount of time to re-
organizenot providing a new way to supply the continually rising demand for transplants
within a short period of time. If not re-organized, an entirely new entity would need to be created
for the selling of organs. Sally Satel, a writer in USA Today, mentions that the sale of human
organs for any gain (financial or material) was outlawed in The National Organ Transplant act of
1984. The selling of human organs should continue to be illegal: legalizing this practice would
exploit the poor, create a larger black market, and possibly risk the lives of others, just for
monetary gain.
Initially, many would argue that if organs such as a kidney were sold, it would greatly
increase the donation rate and give donors the compensation they deserve for donating a part of
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their body to save someone else. In 2009, 83,000 people needed a kidney transplant, but only
17,000 received one (qtd. in University Wire ). Jamie Komarnicki, an author for Calgary Herald,
describes how the selling of organs would increase the donation rate if compensation was
provided for those willing to give up their organs. Komarnicki suggests what seems to be an
ideal solution: offer a person money to give up their kidney and they will be more likely to do so.
People will see there is a personal benefit for giving an organ to someone else, and want to
receive that personal benefit. Some would also argue that compensation should be given to those
willing to give an organ from their own body to another person. Admittedly, this seems to be an
ideal solution considering many people around the world are in need of money and the amount
asked for an organ may seem substantial at the time, but the money will most likely be used
quickly. Although selling organs would increase donation rates, researchers at ProQuest LLC
reported that most of the actual donations of organs come from the deceased instead of living.
Because most of the organs that are donated are necessary for life, it would be difficult to repay
the deceased for their donations.
The donation rate for organs needs to be drastically increased in some way. However, the
consequences of giving a profit for these organs would increase the black market sales of the
organs. Gary Jason, a researcher at SIRS, indicates that creating a system for consent of donating
organs would be difficult, because of the profit others will receive (1). The organs being sold
would be difficult to control. Advertisers would offer to buy peoples kidneys for more and it
would attract more customers that would not have any knowledge how safe the procedure is.
Those who desperately needed to make profit could advertise for a safe procedure to quickly
remove a kidney for a quick price; those desperate for a small gain would say yes to selling their
kidney without considering the risks of the procedure, without considering the certification of
who will be doing the procedure, without considering the sanitation of where and how the
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procedure could be done, increasing the risk of spreading disease and infection. Their attention
would be on the price difference. The selling of organs would affect the organization of the
system, allowing for the procedure to result in a possible loss of life. The procedure could be
done in an unsafe, unsanitary way that would be detrimental to the donors health.
Some may just want to sell their kidneys even if they are not in the right health conditions
to do so. Jason argues, Downplaying the risk and pain would be an attractive ploy for any sales
agent, younger adults and adolescents could not see the potential dangers. The only thing in
their view would be the rapid, large amount of income after the having a kidney taken out; sales
agents could put things lightly, using excuses to say you have two kidneys, you wont even miss
one of them, making the potential uneducated seller unaware of the risks they will have to take,
and future changes they will have to make (Jason). Jasons example points out that some people
may be in a financial struggle, and think that selling their kidney for a large profit would solve
their problem. When in reality, that person is just putting themselves at risk for an unsafe
procedure only because of an offer with the greatest amount of profit. The amount of money
received for their kidney would only be enough to support a person for so long--the person
would become financially stable for a short period of time and then again be in a low-income
state, but with only one kidney. In the end, the unsafe procedure could result in disease that may
add up to, or even be higher than the initial amount received for their kidney. Further
complications could end up putting the seller in more debt than before, not to mention damaging
their health. In summation, patients willing to sell their kidney only for the profit they receive
may be putting themselves at risk for more debt and even death.
Ultimately, the selling of human organs must never be legalized because it would favor
wealthy patients. Wealthy patients would be able to buy their kidneys even if there are poorer
patients that may need the kidney more. Jessica Gilvie, a SIRS Issue Researcher, suggests, the
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central probe of organ sales is that its a victimization and exploitation of poor people (1). It is
not fair to allow the wealthy to receive kidneys over people who may not have the money, but
need the kidney more. The death rates of those with low-income will increase. If there was a
low-income patient who needed an organ within 24 hours to continue with their life, and a
person who had the ability to wait more time before receiving their organ was necessary but they
had the greater funds, the person with the higher price would receive the organ, thus ending the
other patients life. This would put lower income families, who are already struggling with the
cost of the procedures necessary to have the transplant, at risk because they would now have to
find the funds for the organ itself. It is not morally right to give a wealthier person a higher
chance to live just because they can pay the higher price. Therefore, the selling of organs would
discriminate against low-income citizens, keeping those people from receiving what is necessary
for them to survive.
In conclusion, the selling of organs would risk the lives of those who needed an organ but
lack funds, and those who want to sell their organs for money but may do it in an unsafe way. If
organ selling was legal, the organization of the entire organ donation system would need to be
changed, causing more time to be taken without lives being saved. Instead, they could spend
money researching how to artificially grow organs quickly and effectively. Society would be
forced to fight for organs using their money. This would risk the lives of those who need a
transplant to survive. Is it necessary to receive compensation for donating your organs, or is the
feeling of knowing a life was saved enough?




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Works Cited
Gilvie, Jessica Pauline. "A Kidney Market at What Cost?." Los Angeles Times. 28 Mar.
2011: E.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Jason, Gary. "The Market for Body Parts." Liberty Vol. 21, No. 10. Oct. 2007: 33-36. SIRS
Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Komarnicki, Jamie. "'Cash For Kidneys' Gaining Acceptance." Calgary Herald. 28 Sep. 2012: p.
A.1.
SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
ProQuest Staff. "At Issue: Organ Donation." ProQuest LLC. 2014: n.pag. SIRS Issues
Researcher.Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Satel, Sally. "Dying Children Shouldn't Have to Beg for Organs." USA TODAY. 12 Jun.
2013: p. A.6. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
"U.S. Needs Organ Donors." University Wire. 09 Apr. 2014: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web.
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May. 2014.