Pros And Cons Of Organ Donation

In the world of medicine, there is no question that organ transplants are capable of saving lives that would otherwise be lost. However, a problem exists because not there are not enough organs available to meet the need. Buying and selling of human organs is illegal in most of the world, and this has resulted in the creation of a black market in order to help meet the demand. The black market consists of wealthy patients from first world countries using “brokers” to arrange for the purchase of organs from poor people in third world countries. Most of the black market activity has revolved on the buying and selling of kidneys; and there has also been extensive trading in other organs and human tissues.
Legal donations are monitored nation and world wide by governments and health care organizations. Donations can be made after death or while living by willing participants. Living donations are often by family members or friends of a suffering patient in need of a transplant. Although this is true, altruistic

Organs from deceased donors can come from two different deaths. One is fatal head injuries, such as strokes, car accidents, and aneurysms; where the patient is pronounced brain dead provide for viable organs. Another type of death from which organs can be harvested from is cardiac death where the heart fails to continue to pump blood to the body. Around 15% of organ donations are provided from cardiac deaths, consisting mainly of kidneys and livers (Author n.p.). These deaths are considered viable for organs and tissues to be harvested and transplanted to other patients. From a single body, up to 50 lives can be saved (Author n.p.). This is possible with the ability to transplants organs such as the liver, heart, kidney, intestine, lung, and pancreas and tissues such as corneas, bone, skin, heart valves, tendons, and cartilage. Each of these can make an enormous, live saving impact on someone’s