Persuasive Essay On Organ Transplants

Just a kidney transplant can cost around $260,000 stated in the article How Much Does a Transplant Cost. Many people think that they will end up having to pay for the cost of the surgery but it goes on the recipient 's insurance. If someone is hospitalized, the medical staff provides the best possible care, regardless of organ donor status. Donation is only considered after a patient has been declared dead by a medical physician. In a article Health Guidance said by being an organ donor you can actually help to save more than one life, rather it can help to save several and a single donor may touch the lives of up to 50 people.

Many people around the world are waiting on a list while they are suffering, and could be for years to follow because there aren’t enough donors for the number of recipients. Right now there are 115,429 people waiting for organs. We could be saving more lives then we are today by simply requiring organ donation. Although there are valid reasons people say no to it, but there are many more reasons to be a donor. Many people say no to organ donation because of the myths they hear.

The recipient might have different religion, political, or ethical viewpoints that a donor may disagree with, but if the person has the opportunity to save a life then these issues should not stand in the way. Becoming an organ donor is the most beneficial decision because it saves and improves many lives, it helps family members grieve, and it decreases organ sales. Becoming an organ donor gives patients another chance to live or improve the quality at which they live, which is why it is so important to choose to become a donor. Brian Hansen, a writer from New York City, wrote an article, “Organ Shortage,” and states, “In 2001, at least 6,251 Americans died while waiting for an organ — more than twice the number killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks” (Hansen 156). Thousands of people are sitting hopelessly while their family and friends watch them die.

The available supply of transplantable organs in the United States is insufficient in supplying the current demand. Alternative options towards the restricted use of organs specifically from neurologically deceased individuals are the use of live organ donors, foreign transplantations, and financial incentives. These alternative options raise many bioethical concerns such as the ethicality of recruitment methods and the immense risk of post-surgery complications. The shortage in organs donors will be amended with the use of these solutions regardless of the ethical concerns that they will

In the UK only approximately 900 individuals become organ donors each year, while over 6000 people are waiting for suitable organs. In the US much the same situation exists, with 70 000 presently on the waiting list and only approximately 5500 cadaveric donors per year. There are several reasons for the shortage of organs. Perhaps the most common reason is that people are hesitant to donate organs. There are other reasons as well: for example, physicians may neglect to inquire of family members whether they would consent to donating organs when their loved one dies.

Though scientists developed safer methods for injection such as giving the patient’s immune suppressants before the procedure or delivering viruses to cells outside the body, gene therapy was reconsidered and believed to be inhumane to experiment on humans. Some people wondered if it was right to alter an individual’s genes with such an unpredictable outcome while others considered the fact that due to the expensive nature of a gene therapy procedure, scientists may be developing a procedure that is only available to the wealthy (NIH, 2018). Scientists, while acknowledging Jesse’s death and the large expense of a gene therapy procedure, argue that gene therapy has many benefits and could be evolved in a way to benefit all people once more is known. A large benefit that is consistently argued is if scientists could have the means to research and make gene therapy possible, the future may hold the ability to fix genetic diseases in developing embryos. If gene therapy were allowed to be practiced to success, scientists could not only identify genetic diseases in babies but now take it a step further and inject a gene to cure the child so the baby would be cured and survive (Lewis,

The first one, it may limit people’s choices. For example, if through genetic screening one is proven to have a hereditary cardiovascular disease, one must be wise enough to avoid doing everything that triggers heart attack. Thus, this may affect one’s social life greatly. It is possible that insurance companies will also charge people that is proven to have bigger tendency in suffering from a disease with bigger amount of money than the ones who are not. The certainty people get through genetic screening can also lead to discrimination in the society.

More people are likely to donate if they would be rewarded so that they are helped just like the recipitant. She states that there are several donors in third world countries that would gladly give away their kidney’s for only the cost of $1,000. They are in such a desperate time they would sell their body parts, just to help their family survive. Another reason why organ sales should be legal is because it would stop the illegal trade of kidney’s. In the illegal trade of kidney’s, no one has the interests of the seller.

A lengthy wait list exists in America due to liver failure. “More than 16,000 Americans are waiting for a liver transplant, according to federal data from the Organ Procurement and Transport Network. Only 6,000 organs are available a year and nearly 2,000 people will die waiting for one to become available” (Donaldson). The people eligible for a liver transplant is a controversial topic. “Reluctance to perform liver transplantation in alcoholics is based on the fact that alcoholism is frequently considered to be self-inflicted and on fears of harmful post-transplant alcoholism recurrence” (Donckier).

Organ allocation and transplantation happen every day and much is to be considered before surgery can begin. There are more needs than what are supplied, so it is vitally important to make the best possible choices in deciding recipients of organs. Not only does the choice need to be made medically, but ethically as well. How does a person decide who is more deserving? Can the patient survive after the transplant and have improved quality of life?