12 Sep 2022

56

A Trend of Organ Selling: The Pros and Cons

Format: APA

Academic level: College

Paper type: Research Paper

Words: 1665

Pages: 5

Downloads: 0

Introduction 

There is an ongoing debate on the causes and effects of selling organs and if this practice should be legalized. Those who agree with this trend believe that the legalization of organ selling will reduce the rates of the black market and people will be able to willingly give their organs to save other people's lives ( Alpinar-Şencan et al., 2017) . However, those against the trend of organ selling argue that selling of organs is commercializing and this is against the donation standards that require people to donate willingly ( Ambagtsheer & Van Balen, 2019) . The paper will analyze the causes and effects of the phenomena of selling body organs and the reasons why people should agree with the legalization of the practice. The paper will then conclude by examining the alternative hypothesis by discussing the reasons why the practice should be criminalized and why people should agree with the case of legalization. 

Cause and Effect for Legalization of Sale of Body organs 

The first cause that leads people to sell their body parts is high poverty levels working against a backdrop of an increase in the costs of living. The effect is that people selling body parts will have the money required for meeting their basic needs including healthcare needs, which will, in turn, improve the livelihoods among poor neighborhoods ( Ambagtsheer & Van Balen, 2019) . Most of the poor people who cannot afford money for their sustenance due to the high cost of living are usually forced to sell their organs. Besides, most fields of practice require body parts for research on the anatomy of the human body, while they are willing to provide the incentives for those who are willing to donate their parts. 

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The other cause of participating in the practice of selling body organs is the shortage of organs for transplantation. The major effect from this cause will be to save the lives of the people requiring organ transplants. Most of the states and healthcare facilities have reported the cases of shortages for organs for transplantation especially the kidney transplants ( Gillespie, 2019) . The result has been the poor or ill health among patients requiring organs. It is evident that allowing or encouraging consenting adults to become living kidney donors in return for money through legalization of the practice of selling organs will be the possible solution to the chronic shortage of organs for transplantation. 

As advocates of allowing payment for human body organs, people should always argue not for an unfettered free market, but for one that is regulated, which is the main cause why the sale of body organs should be legalized. The major effect of criminalizing the sale of body organs has been the emerging unfettered free markets and other black markets that are not regulated. A regulated market is one that is guided by principles and laws that govern the sale and use of organ transplants ( Taylor, 2017) . The government should legalize the practice and regulate the market, bearing in mind that the practice of organ transplantation is an invasive one that may have adverse health impacts on the donor and the recipient. In this case, the effect of legalizing the practice will be to protect the health of the participants in the practice and help the government to earn in terms of taxes required to fund other development projects. 

The fact that most of the people selling their body organs in the black market are exploited cannot be underscored, which is another cause why the practice should be legalized (Wu et al., 2016). Legalizing the practice will have different effects, where the prices will be set at a reasonably generous level to attract people voluntarily into the market ( Gillespie, 2019) . In this case, legalizing the practice will involve creating a central body that will be responsible for making and funding all purchases and for allocating organs fairly according to the clinical criteria as opposed to the current partisan forms of allocations. 

The current increase in the levels of organ trafficking is the cause for the development of a proposal for the legalization of the practice ( Hurst, 2015) . The major effect of legalizing the practice is that their practice will be controlled by the combination of medical professions and state regulators. Most of the people have argued about the ethical and health considerations of legalizing the practice and that the practice may lead to permanent harm of the participants ( Alpinar-Şencan et al., 2017) . However, having a regulated system that is controlled by healthcare practitioners will compensate for the harm and permanent body damage when the practice is legalized as compared to the current practice that has attracted high levels of human and organ trafficking. 

The case of autonomy, libertarianism and the notion for self-ownership is another reason why the practice of selling body organs should be legalized ( Hurst, 2015) . The basic claim to all humans is that autonomous and competent adults have a strong presumptive right to act as they please with their bodies especially if the actions contribute to the common good ( Gillespie, 2019) . This implies that at least in the absence of strong reasons to act otherwise, humans should be allowed to sell their body parts as they wish. The main effect of legalizing the practice will be giving people the autonomy; while there will be high levels of consistency ( Alpinar-Şencan et al., 2017) . There is no fundamental difference between selling body organs and other widely accepted practices like selling the risky labor such as working in an environment that involves risks that can even be greater than those involved in organ transplant. 

An analysis of the harm and risks involved in the present-day organ trafficking shows that the continued criminalization of the practice of selling organs will continue to expose people to unacceptable levels of harm. When addressing the moral permissibility of the sale of organs, it is not advisable to focus on the worst case, but rather the likely level of harm that will occur within a properly structured healthcare system. The effect of having a regulated system is that the most widely discussed form of organ sale like the kidney sale has not been dangerous if undertaken in sound conditions. 

Alternative Arguments 

Despite the benefits of the legalization of organ selling, there are some people who are still against the practice. For instance, some people think that legalization of the organ selling is unethical practice as it encourages immoralities like murder. According to their arguments, murder cases will be high as more people look for body parts due to the financial incentives that are associated with the legal business. With the donation, people can give their organs when they are willing to not because they need money ( Alpinar-Şencan et al., 2017) . Besides, they also oppose the practice by arguing that the legalization of the sale of organs can increase the mortality rate ( Gillespie, 2019) . If people are convinced that they can sell their organs to get money and still survive without it, they will be moved to get into the business without considering the risks. This individual can easily die in the future is he/she needs to use the organ but cannot find one from other donors. 

Those who are against the legalization of organ selling are also arguing that it can increase the rate of kidnapping. They assume that people will use this as a good business opportunity and kidnap and kill to get the organs ( Ambagtsheer & Van Balen, 2019) . Those at the black market will, therefore, be able to sell the organs at a lower price than the legalized. This is to make people in the health constitutions to be interested in these organs, though illegally acquired because they are cheaper. Commercializing of organs is also considered unethical practice as it goes against the ethical standards of donations. According to these standards, human beings should give out their organs willingly to those whom they wish ( Alpinar-Şencan et al., 2017) . However, they believe that this legalization will result in the possibility of the increase of physical abuse that is one of the terrible humanity crimes. 

Reasons for rejecting Opposing Arguments 

There are many reasons for rejecting those who are opposing views on the legalization of organ selling. For instance, legalization of organ selling will increase the rate of crime is wrong. This is because, the crime related to the black market is higher compared to those that will be caused when the practice is finally legalized ( Gillespie, 2019) . By legalizing the practice, people will not be forced or kidnapped for them to give their organs; rather, there will be standards to ensure that they will willingly sell their organs to save lives. I also believe that life-saving organs will be readily available in the hospitals and there will be no need for the doctors to go for the organs that have been acquired illegally. 

The black market sellers usually get the organs in an unhygienic and unethical manner because some of these procedures are done without the concept of the clients by inadequate surgeons. This is usually associated with the high rates of mortality as both the donor and the patient are likely to die in the process ( Alpinar-Şencan et al., 2017) . This can be minimized through the legalization of organ sales to ensure that all the procedures are conducted in a more ethical manner. In this case, I strongly reject opposing opinions because of the benefits of legalizing organ selling outweigh the risks. 

Conclusion 

The sale of body parts should be legalized because the benefits of legalization can compensate for the adverse effects that are currently being experienced as the practice continues to be criminalized. Legalization of the practice of sale of body organs has different advantages which include the attainment of a more regulated market, reduction in the levels of risks and reduction in deaths accrued from human and organ trafficking. Legalizing the sale will also solve the problem of organ shortages, which will promote health and save lives that are currently at risk. On the contrary, some people have argued about the ethical considerations of selling body organs as the main reason why the practice should be criminalized. However, the arguments based in the principle of respect for autonomy and the notion of self-ownership justifies the reason why the practice should be legalized as it will empower people to act as they wish as long as their actions are for the general good such as saving lives. 

References 

Alpinar-Şencan, Z., Baumann, H., & Biller-Andorno, N. (2017). Does organ selling violate human dignity?.  Monash bioethics review 34 (3-4), 189-205. 

Ambagtsheer, F., & Van Balen, L. (2019). ‘I’m not Sherlock Holmes': Suspicions, secrecy, and silence of transplant professionals in the human organ trade. European Journal of Criminology , 1477370818825331. 

Gillespie, R. (2019). What money cannot buy and what money ought not to buy: dignity, motives, and markets in human organ procurement debates. Journal of Medical Humanities 40 (1), 101-116. 

Hurst, S. (2015). The ethics of selling body parts. 

Taylor, J. S. (2017).  Stakes and kidneys: why markets in human body parts are morally imperative . Routledge. 

Wu, Y., Yang, T., Li, L., & Ma, W. (2016, July). Ethical issues relating to living organ donation in China. In  Transplantation proceedings  (Vol. 48, No. 6, pp. 1875-1878). Elsevier. 

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 15). A Trend of Organ Selling: The Pros and Cons.
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