Human organ transplantation is a treatment carried out when organ failure occurs. Examples of organs that can be transplanted include heart, kidneys, intestines, liver, lungs, and pancreas. Among these organs that transplantation can be possible, kidney transplantation is the most frequently carried out in the world. It is generally accepted due to it cost effectiveness and quality of life of the treatment. 22 people die every day while waiting for a transplant. Regardless of one's medical history or age, almost everyone can be an organ donor. A single organ donor can change lives to more than 51 people and save 8 lives. Fully Compensation for organ donation cannot be valued, and it is for this reason that government entities and individuals promote the use of rewards instead of paying cash for an organ. The organ donor should be allowed to make an informed consent rather than being coerced. The major religions in the United States support organ donation and this shows how morally upright the exercise is, provided it is done in the proceeds of the law and ethics. It is, therefore, necessary to discuss compensation for organ donation and reduction of prison time for inmates based on organ donation.
The sentiments made in the article on the exchange of inmate organs for liberty are to larger extent unethical and illegal. The reason why the writer disagrees with them is that they are based on emotions rather than the law or ethics. In the context of living organ donation, people must be aware of the risk involved in the procedure, the probability of success for the recipient, their right to decide freely and that they should be competent to make the decision (Thiessen, Kim, Formica, Bia & Kulkarni, 2013). Medical ethics advocates for voluntary, sufficiently informed and competency to consent by the organ donor (Grady, 2015). Governor Haley Barbour decided to suspend life sentence of Gladys Scott to donate her kidney in exchange for liberty. She never asked for that but she is coerced to do so in order to be freed from the jail term. Religious groups perceive organ donation as an act of neighborly charity and love. The National Organ Transplant Act of 1984, prohibits human organ exchange for monetary value. It is against the U.S law to sell organs. Although Governor Haley Barbour did not support monetary compensation of the kidney of Gladys Scott, the author disagree with him because there was no deliberate decision and informed consent.
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The article on why people do not donate kidneys in the New York Times seems to have a better approach to organ donation. The writer agrees with the plan of letting designated charity or governmental entity to offer kind rewards, a tuition voucher or even tax credit. In this plan, donors would not get cash in exchange for organs (Pollock, 2015). Careful screening for the emotional and physical health of potential donors should be done. Such provisions would eliminate individuals who are after financial gains which make them regret later for hasty decisions. The donated kidneys would be distributed to patients on the waiting list. United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) has a contract with the government to manage organ transplantation and procurement (Friedewald, Fry‐Revere, Hanneman, Henderson & Thiessen, 2015). This is medically all-encompassing and fairly efficient way to ensure kidney allocation (Warren, Gifford, Hong, Merion & Ojo, 2014). The system allows for an equal opportunity for the rich and the poor to access available donated kidneys. However, there are fears that if individuals of a certain religious group oppose financial incentives, organ supply could reduce. The waiting list continues to get longer, and a radical change is required to approach the issue of organ donation and its compensation plan.
Exchange of body organs for the liberty of prison inmates is simply unacceptable and against the U.S laws. It violates the NOTA provisions of 1984 on organ donation, medical and religious ethics concerning the matter. Trading liberty for an organ can be considered as ‘buying' of freedom (Borna & Sharma, 2013). This certainly makes it seem illegal as it is against the law. Gladys Scott's kidney liberty exchange can be described as yuck factor. It allows proponents of the idea to avoid logic in favor of an appeal to emotion. A policy-making process that is based on feelings in the field of biotechnology can result in discriminatory policies (Von Winterfeldt, 2013). Organ vendors can be disadvantaged financially and physically if the decision to donate is not voluntary (Capron, Danovitch & Delmonico, 2014). Healthy poor people who lack essential information to make an informed consent can be exploited by the ailing rich to sell their organs. Advocates against organ donation payment argue that the financially unstable people can be forcefully lured into selling body organs to the highest bidder if monetary compensation is upheld (Jefferson-Jones, 2013). Replication of Scott sisters' story across prison populations can bring about breach of the law (Bersinger & Milot, 2015). A court final verdict to sentence an offender can be deemed obsolete with just a directive from those in power (Gershowitz, 2016). Besides this, it can render a government to troll in a state of lawlessness created by leaders' personal decision to pardon prison inmates (Ross & Thistlethwaite, 2018). To some extent, this can promote federal crimes for those in power because they can have an alternative escape from jail terms such as suspension of the terms in exchange for organ donation (Singh, 2014).
However much some people negatively criticize the idea to increase organ donation, the author fully supports any ethical and lawful means. In order for the U.S to motivate and encourage organ donation, it should embrace Allocation of Priority or Priority Rule. The rule does not involve financial incentive and it has successfully increased the numbers of donors in Israel and Singapore (Salomon et at., 2015).
It is in such a way that, people who are in support of various organ donation course for over three years or agree to be donors when they die, are given priority should they need a transplant. If fully adopted and implemented in the U.S, the number of organs donated may increase. The country can also adopt Opt-in or Opt-out systems. The Opt-in system is about citizens registering their willingness to donate organs upon death (Leppke et al., 2013). The opt-out system is about the ability of a citizen donor to stop donation of an organ upon death after making a specific request asking not to take an organ upon death (Shepherd, O’Carroll & Ferguson, 2014). America has only the Opt-in system which scares the potential donors from registering. Combination of the two systems can increase the number people who would like to be organ donors.
Many religious groups, governments, and charity organizations are in support of organ donation. They support the act because it is perceived as a good intention to save lives of those who are in need of organs or tissue transplant. They are however against the sale of human organs or tissues because no value can be attached to them and the trade can result in immense human trafficking. Human trafficking is an outdated practice that happened many years ago, which lead to the death of many people and children. It is therefore important for the government to regulate and provide ethical and lawful measures that should be put to maintain a healthy, willingly and informed organ donations.
References
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Borna, S., & Sharma, D. (2013). Price of freedom: are we willing to pay anything and how much?. International Journal of Public Policy , 9 (4-5-6), 356-370. Fisher, J. S., Butt, Z.
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Pollock, A. (2015). On the Suspended Sentences of the Scott Sisters: Mass Incarceration, Kidney Donation, and the Biopolitics of Race in the United States. Science, Technology, & Human Values , 40 (2), 250-271.
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Warren, P. H., Gifford, K. A., Hong, B. A., Merion, R. M., & Ojo, A. O. (2014). Development of the National Living Donor Assistance Center: reducing financial disincentives to living organ donation. Progress in Transplantation , 24 (1), 76-81.
