Kidney+Essay

Mirusha Mujaj 11/01/2010 New Visions Education - English Would You Sell Your Kidney Essay

Healthcare constantly experiences problems every day. One of them being on the issue of kidneys and if people should sell them. The normal human body has two kidneys, but can survive with one. The main issue is that people don’t want to be donors and keep both of their kidneys while there are people desperate for kidneys as their lives depend on it. It is illegal to sell one’s kidney, but with 60,000 people dying from a preventable issue is unnecessary therefore people should start donating their kidneys. There are many advantages to people selling their kidneys. Donating a kidney can save people’s lives, possibly give money to the donors, and with advanced technology a quicker, safer transplant can be performed guaranteeing a better match for the patient in need of the kidney. In healthcare, the main goal is to get the patient back to their normal health and make sure they live. It is unfair for one person to live with an unneeded kidney when they have two while a person is dying for only one. A writer shows this action when explaining “The fact of the matter is that if Person A will surely die without a kidney, while Person B, with two healthy kidneys, has only a 1 percent chance of eventually needing both of them, then one of those kidneys really ought to gravitate to Person A”(Sunstein, Thaler, p. 121). Money could be given to the donors as one kidney is worth $15,000. When people are more aware of how much a kidney is worth then they start to show more interest in the idea of donating. Technological advances are constantly being made making sure people have less to worry about when they’re under operation guaranteeing a safe operation most of the time. The worth of human life shouldn’t be questioned, therefore people must consider the advantages donating over the disadvantages. Although donating a kidney may seem like a kind action to do, there are also many disadvantages to giving one’s kidney away. If a price is put on kidneys, then the number organ thieves will grow who steal the kidneys and sell them for money. If the selling and buying of organs becomes legal it provokes people to steal more organs. The National Transplant Act establishes that “It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human organ for valuable consideration for use in human transplantation if the transfer affects interstate commerce” (Friedman, p.960). Parents may force their children to sell their organs/body parts like in Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper. Parents may take advantage of their children and force them to donate their kidneys. Common reasons for parents to do this is to give one of their children’s kidneys to a family member for a better match or for money which could help the family or wasted on invaluable items. Another disadvantage is that a kidney may be worth more when the donor is alive rather than dead. People waiting for donors have to wait at least around “five years” or as long as “ten years in certain parts of the U.S.(Perens, p. 1).A fourth disadvantage is that the poor would be expected to sell their kidneys because they would need the money and have the least impact and power in society. Being seen as somewhat inferior in society, the wealthy people feel it is necessary for the poor to give up their organs. Its explained that “In that reality, the poor person will remain poor but lose health and maybe more than one organ in the process of a government authorized abuse of the poor for the rich” (Friedman, p. 961) Another reason why one may not want to sell their kidney is that their would be limitations on the amount of alcohol and medicine and restricted to do certain actions in contact sports. Because its not their original organ, people with kidney transplants have to be more cautious. It is more difficult for the body to carry out a normal body function with a kidney from a different person and different DNA/genes. There are many health precautions and risks when getting a kidney transplant, causing people to have all of these fears and realizing all of the disadvantages. People cannot be forced to sell their kidneys, therefore they must be more aware as to why they should sell them. People may already want to sell their kidneys, but simply forget to check the box to become an organ donor. People say that they want to donate their organs, but it must be signed on a document if one legally wants to give it away. In the article, “How to Increase Organ Donations,”the process is shown as the authors explains “...the concrete steps necessary to register as an organ donor appear to deter otherwise willing donors from registering. Many Americans who fail to register as organ donors at least profess to be willing donors.” A way to encourage people to donate is to offer free car insurance or even waive driver’s license fees if they commit to becoming a donor. Kidney transplant awareness could sponsor state expenses by paying for people in order for them to be willing to sell their kidneys. An author writes “If it’s tragic for people to walk around with extra kidneys they’ll probably never need, it’s doubly tragic for people to be buried with extra kidneys they’ll surely never need (Sunstein, Thaler, p. 120). It is vital that people become aware of donating kidneys because they don’t feel that it’s such a large issue until they know more information about how it can help other people. Many people are in need of a kidney as 60,000 people have died from this cause, but there aren’t enough donors willing to give one of their kidneys. People should reconsider their decision if they are thinking about not donating their kidney. Its better to donate a kidney as it would become one less health issue and help many struggling patients throughout the world. Cass Sunstein & Richard Thaler (2009) Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Penguin Press. New York, NY.

Friedman, AL (2006) Payment for Donor Kidneys: Pros and Cons. Http://kidney-international.org. Brooklyn, NY.

Perens, Bruce (2008) What’s Wrong With Selling Kidneys?