The Legalization of Organ Harvesting: The Main Question For Years

he question of whether to or not to legalize organ harvesting has been a widely discussed topic for many years. The major concern on this topic is the legalization of the act. By allowing consenting adults to become organ donors, as they continue to live healthily in return for financial gain, has been a short-term solution to the chronic shortage of much needed organs such as kidneys. However, many people see the idea as unacceptable and suggests that the legalization of organ harvesting is unethical. Though some people see this act as unethical, organ harvesting should be legalized as it saves lives (Houser, 2017).

Iran is the only country in the world that has a legal system for paying an organ donor. In this country, it is seen as a way for the poor to make money, while saving a life in return. This system has reduced transplant waiting times and keeps crime down as people are less likely to steal or smuggle goods (Bengali, 2015).

It is important to note that the number of people awaiting an organ transplant has grown faster than expected. The National Kidney Foundation reports that on average: “over three thousand people are added to the kidney transplant waiting list each month, thirteen people die each day while awaiting a life-saving kidney transplant, every fourteen minutes a person is added to the kidney transplant list and in 2014, approximately forty-seven hundred people died while waiting for a kidney transplant and another thirty-six hundred became to sick to receive a kidney transplant “(Organ Donation and Transplantation, 2016).

The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA), which was passed in 1968 and revised in 1987 and 2006, sets a framework for the donation of organs, tissues and other human body parts in the United States. Since the UAGA was passed, the United States has had a voluntary altruistic system of organ donation, which does not provide benefits to the donor or the donor’s family. This system is designed to fairly distribute organs to the patients with the greatest need and who are the closest match to the donor. Recipients are not discriminated against based on gender, ethnicity, or financial status (Martinez, 2013). Though no financial amount can bring a love one back, it can assist the family with care taking of the deceased kids or for the closure of the deceased financial matters.

Works Cited

• Bengali, Shashank. “‘Kidney for Sale’: Iran Has a Legal Market for the Organs, but the System Doesn’t Always Work .” The Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2017, https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-iran-kidney-20171015-story.html.
• Martinez, Britta, 'Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (1968)'. Embryo Project Encyclopedia (2013-08-05). ISSN: 1940-5030 http://embryo.asu.edu/handle/10776/6046.
• “Organ Donation and Transplantation Statistics.” National Kidney Foundation, 11 Jan. 2016, www.kidney.org/news/newsroom/factsheets/Organ-Donation-and-Transplantation-Stats.