According to The American Transplant Foundation, more than 120,000 people in the United States are on the waiting list to receive a lifesaving organ transplant. Every 10 minutes a new name is added to the transplant waiting list and on average around 20 people die per day due to a lack of organ availability. The consistently high demand for organs and shortage of donors in the United States has prompted a complex discussion on ways to close the gap. China, for example, has found a solution- they used death-row inmate’s organs for transplant operations. A report from an international team, which included human rights lawyers and journalist, estimated that 10,000 to 60,000 organs are transplanted each year in China and most organs have been …show more content…
There were more attempts through the time period of 10 years in various states; however, despite various attempts in states with bills, no legislation has been passed allowing condemned prisoners to donate their organs. All states of the USA prohibit organ procurement from death row prisoners and do not allow them to donate their organs after death even if the donating from the death row inmate is volunteered. In 2013, in Columbus, Ohio a condemned child killer Ronald Phillips asked for the chance to donate his organs to his ailing mother and sister either before or after his execution and his request was denied (CBS News, 2013). The proposal to remove organs from executed prisoners unveils another problem regarding what method of execution would actually allow the organs to be harvestable. One suggested method of execution could be the act of organ donation itself. From the utilitarian point of view this would make sense; the anesthetizing of the prisoner and then removing his organs would produce healthy unnecessary organs for transplantation. However, the organ removal create an arduous situation for the organ recovery team- the organ recovery team would become the executors. Many physician groups, including the American Medical Association, …show more content…
According to World Health Organization vital organs should only be removed from dead patients and living patients should not be killed for or by organ procurement. When the donor dies, organs must be transplanted within a short period time for the new person to accept the organ. If an organ is kept chilled in preservation solution, donated organs can remain viable for transplantation for a duration ranging from a few to many hours, although it is best if they are transplanted as quickly as possible after the organ removal surgery. Typical storage time for kidneys is less than 30 hours, less than 12 hours for pancreas and liver, and less than 6 hours for a heart or lungs. These times vary because of the relative speed at which deterioration begins in the organs' tissues (“Frequently asked questions”). Thus the timing is very important in transplantation, and people who are on organ transplant list are always in a stress and cannot relax, because they are waiting for a phone call that announces that some donor died and he could be an organ recipient, so he would need to leave everything and get to the hospital. With that being said, inmates sentenced to death would make ideal donors because their time of death would be known in advance time and the organ removal could be done close to the hospital. The predictability of when an organ would
Picture a world where every baby is born healthy and everyone could live longer and healthier lives. Genetic engineering and cloning would let this almost perfect world to happen. Humans around the world could be free from deadly diseases and dying young. Genetic engineering according to Merriam- Webster, is applied techniques of genetics and biotechnology used to cut up and join together genetic material and especially DNA from one or more species of organism and to introduce the result into an organism in order to change one or more of its characteristics. A clone is defined as a person or thing that appears to be an exact copy of another person or thing. Cloning and genetic engineering will not only help humans, but it will
The argument for organ donor system reform is compelling and strong. Satel supports her thoughts with facts and opinions from prominent authorities. As well as the argument being documented, there are a few weaknesses. While attempting to support her thoughts that having the body “for sale” would be socially acceptable, the author uses a source that could be seen as detrimental to her own argument. Stated in the text, “a recent poll by researchers in Pennsylvania found that 59 percent of respondents favored the general idea of incentives, with 53 percent saying direct payments would be acceptable.”
The act of donation must be made freely and without any coercion and no one is obligated to donate an organ. As Christians, we are strongly in favor of the transplantation and donation of organs because we are able to help others and relieve the sufferings. As stated by Pope John Paul in 2000, he stated that organ donation can be a way of nurturing the culture of life, but he emphasized that that a potential donor needs to be informed about the risks and consequences of a decision to donate an organ. The Catechism tells that it is not acceptable to bring about the death of someone so that there will be organs available for donation, and that vital organs can only be removed after death. There has been a debate on the determination of the death of a person. Organs degenerate very quickly after death, so there is the need to remove them immediately. On the other hand, if vital organs are removed before a person dies, and this contributing to their death, is not acceptable from the position of the Church that defends a person's human dignity and right to
In 1954, the first organ transplant was conducted successfully in the United States. (Clemmons, 2009) Nowadays, the technology of organ transplant has greatly advanced and operations are carried out every day around the world. According to current system, organ sales are strictly prohibited in the United States. (Clemmons, 2009) However, the donor waiting list in the United States has doubled in the last decade and the average waiting time for a kidney is also increasing. (Clemmons, 2009) In the year 2007, over 70,000 patients were on the waiting list for a kidney and nearly 4500 of them died during the waiting period. In contrast to the increasing demand for kidney, organ donation has been in a decrease. (Wolfe, Merion, Roys, & Port, 2009) Even the government puts in great effot to increase donation incentives, the gap between supply and demand of organs still widens. In addition, the technology of therapeutic cloning is still not mature and many obstacles are met by scientists. (Clemmons, 2009) Hence, it is clear that a government regulated kidney market with clear legislation and quality control is the best solution to solve the kidney shortage problem since it improves the lives of both vendors and patients.
It is clear that a large demand for organs exists. People in need of organ donations are transferred to an orderly list. Ordinarily, U.S. institutions have an unprofitable system which provides organs through a list of individuals with the highest needs; however, these organs may never come. A list is
Currently, more than 118,617 men, women, and children are waiting for a transplant. With this high demand for organ transplants, there is a need for supply. According to the OPTN Annual report of 2008, the median national waiting time for a heart transplant is 113 days, 141 days for lungs, 361 days for livers, 1219 days for kidneys, 260 days for pancreas, 159 days for any part of the intestine. With this world of diseases and conditions, we are in desperate need of organs. Organ transplants, followed by blood into a donated organ transfusions, are ways medical procedures are helping better the lives of the patients.
Death raises many questions but leaves humankind with few answers. Overall it’s an avoided topic because it reminds us of our own mortality. With the help of modern medicine, the death of a loved one can be the saving grace for another’s life. Ironically those restricted from this life giving ability are those with the least regard for the sanctity of life, murderers. Currently, there is little to no strict policy regarding the donation of prisoners organs, it’s typically dealt with on a case by case basis. As a result of this loosely constructed course of action, those who ultimately pay for its disorganized structure are in fact those most in need of organs. Thus, a more rigid policy needs to be enacted especially in the case of murderers, who are condemned to be executed and as a consequence their organs as well. It’s a fact that convicted murderers have little to no rights when it comes to their bodies, however it’s a shame that the justice system doesn’t utilize this to save parts of
Organ donation is a key role in saving thousands of American lives. Without donation hundreds of people would die from improperly functioning or failing organs not strong enough to keep them alive. Organ donation is the process of giving an organ or a part of an organ for the purpose of transplantation into another person. Organs can be donated from both living and deceased donors, and can be donated from all ages. Unfortunately not all Americans are aware of organ donation and out of the ones that are, several are uncomfortable with donating for several reasons. This is causing organ shortages not just in the US, but all over the world. These shortages have led to the voluntary selling of one’s own organs, otherwise known as Organ Trafficking.
What many do not realize is the truth about organ donation. The body of the donor after the surgery is not mangled up and is presentable for the funeral. Organ donation is ethical and should not be looked down upon. Organ donating is there to save lives, not to hurt anyone. Many people think that they should be paid or given something in return for donating their organs, which is... ...
Raja Mishra puts forward the idea of death row prisoners being able to donate an organ for a life sentence. This creates the argument that the race to meet the growing demand for organs is outweighing important moral values. Ethicists say this is a slippery slope and amounts to a de facto organ sale. But Mishra argues “it is a chance for murderers to give back exactly what they've taken: a life.” These valuable organs should not be allowed to needlessly go to waste in such a large shortage. The organs of these prisoners are valuable and could put a sizeable dent in the ever growing list of those needing organ donations.
The use of organs from executed prisoners is censured by the United Network for Organ Sharing, which guides organ donation policies in the United States. The group denounced the practice in 2007 and hasn’t budged on the matter. Living prisoners may be allowed to donate organs, but it’s decided on a case-by-case basis at the state and federal levels, officials say. Typically such donations are limited to immediate family members when there’s a confirmed organ match, with the inmate and recipient’s families agreeing to foot the bill for all medical and security costs.
Nadiminti, H. (2005) Organ Transplantation: A dream of the past, a reality of the present, an ethical Challenge for the future. Retrieved February 12, 2014 from http://virtualmentor.ama-assn.org/2005/09/fred1-0509.html
One of the most important and prevalent issues in healthcare discussed nowadays is the concern of the organ donation shortage. As the topic of organ donation shortages continues to be a growing problem, the government and many hospitals are also increasingly trying to find ways to improve the number of organ donations. In the United States alone, at least 6000 patients die each year while on waiting lists for new organs (Petersen & Lippert-Rasmussen, 2011). Although thousands of transplant candidates die from end-stage diseases of vital organs while waiting for a suitable organ, only a fraction of eligible organ donors actually donate. Hence, the stark discrepancy in transplantable organ supply and demand is one of the reasons that exacerbate this organ donation shortage (Parker, Winslade, & Paine, 2002). In the past, many people sought the supply of transplantable organs from cadaver donors. However, when many ethical issues arose about how to determine whether someone is truly dead by either cardiopulmonary or neurological conditions (Tong, 2007), many healthcare professionals and transplant candidates switched their focus on obtaining transplantable organs from living donors instead. As a result, in 2001, the number of living donors surpassed the number of cadaver donors for the first time (Tong, 2007).
The question arises whether a person’s claim to determine what transpires to their bodies afore and postmortem should be respected. Traditional medical ethics lean toward preserving the rights of the person. This translates into the act of not harvesting organs from the living or deceased unless valid consent has been obtained. The basis of this ethical policy lies in the deontological theories that were established by our philosophical forefathers, such as, John Locke and John Stuart Mill. Refusing to acknowledge the individual rights of a potential donor; the doctor, or medical facility is committing an act of ethical betrayal of the donor, the family, the institution of medicine and the law. Thus, the individual rights of the donor must be upheld to the highest ethical degree.
Iran, which has the world’s only regulated system for compensating a kidney donor, has practically eliminated the wait for kidney donation. While Iran’s numbers seem promising when compared to the wait list in the United States, their numbers are still questionable. First, Iran has an authoritarian government, which is widely distrusted in the global community; therefore, many do not trust the accuracy of the numbers which they report. Additionally, Iran has not produced any long-term follow-up information about the donors and the recipients. Despite the reported $3,500 - $5,700 that living donors received, seventy-nine percent of donors could not afford follow-up care. In addition, Dr. J. Richard Thistlethwaite, a transplant surgeon at the University of Chicago, states that “The stigma associated with selling your organs was so strong that 98% did not want to be identified as organ donors” (Stevens...