Organs for Sale...
Many of you have heard of the “black market”. Although it
does not have a physical address the black market encompasses the most
illegally bought and sold products or services throughout the world. Examples of products sold on the black market
are illegal drugs or weapons that have been smuggled into the country and sold
out of the line of sight of government officials and law enforcement. Some
countries also endure the service sector of the black market in the form of
prostitution. Some may believe the black market is only for the sale of harmful
or “bad things” within our country however the black market has been introduced
in the world of healthcare as well. Due to the fact that there is currently a
shortage of donated organs, the black market has become an answer for desperate
healthcare consumers in need of organs for themselves of family members. One of the most common organs sold illegally
in the black market are kidneys (Schulman,
2012). The shortage of these organs has led to many violations of
laws for countries all over the world.
The sale of organs has become so prevalent in some parts of
the world that they have even been done for reasons such as the purchase of materialistic
things. For example, a Chinese news station reported that a 17 year old
resident of China sold his Kidney so he could purchase and iPhone. Sales of
organs for reasons such as these have led the black market to profit a total of
$75 million dollars a year according to the International Business Times (Schulman, 2012). Some ethicist believes that the sale of organs
puts a value on human life and that in part is corrupting the meaning of human
dignity. Others believe that there would be more willing donors if they or
their families received some benefits from their donation.
In my opinion, a dollar amount should never determine the
value of a human life. If we begin to sale organs, then only the healthcare
consumers who could afford it would be able to receive the organs. This would
leave out the poor people who are in need of help as well. People also may
become desperate for the sale of organs and start committing crimes in order to
sale the organs of others for a profit. Putting a dollar value on organs will
open up a plethora of unethical activities within the field of healthcare and
therefore I am against the sale of human organs.
Schulman, M.
(2012). Kidneys for sale: A reconsideration. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/medical/kidney-sale.html
No comments:
Post a Comment