The Controversy of Organ Donation - Report Example

The controversy of organ donation Even though organ donation is a controversial topic, it is practiced widely all over the world. Organ donation helps a person to save his life and therefore it is considered as a sacred act. However, the chances of problems or complications developing as a result of organ donation to the donor cannot be ruled out. The creator has made the human with utmost precision and he has not created anything extra in human body. For example, two hands, two legs, two eyes and two ears are necessary to keep all our daily activities safe and secure. Even though human can survive with a single hand and leg, the quality of life will be affected when a person loses any of his organs. Kidney is one internal organ which commonly donated to patients with kidney failure. All the human have two kidneys and one kidney is enough for maintaining all the kidney functions under normal status. The creator has created two kidneys in order to help the people to sustain their life even if one kidney failed to function normally. Kidney donors may face severe problems if their remaining kidney suffers any damage in future. In other words, kidney donors are actually taking a risk while donating one of their kidneys. This paper analyses the controversies surrounding organ donation in general and kidney donation in particular with the help of organ donation data from Untied States from 1980 onwards. The US organ procurement system comprises 59 OPOs (organ procurement organizations), which provide all of the deceased donor organs for the nation’s 287 transplant centers. Of the OPOs, 50 are independent (private, nonprofit organizations) and nine are hospital-based. Each OPO has a contiguous geographical service area designated by the Federal Government for recovering organs in all hospitals in that region. Since 1988, OPO designation has been carried out biannually by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), now termed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), on the basis of organ recoveries and organ transplants performed. Beginning in 2002, OPO designations will be made every 4 years, due to changes in federal regulations (Nathan et al, 2002, p.29). The above statistics clearly show that America is a country which encourages organ donation. It should be noted that nothing mandatory in America with respect to organ donation as in the case of Singapore. In Singapore, organ donation is mandatory for all people except for Muslims. The controversial Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) in Singapore assumes that Singapore citizens have consented to be organ donors unless opted out” (Chew). In America, many people donate their organs such as eyes and hearts at the time of their death. They do so in order to give some assistance to people who are struggling for survival because of heart problems and blindness. For them keeping eyes and hearts in tact on a dead body is a meaningless act when millions of people all over the world are struggling because of heart and eye problems. Heart transplantation is normally conducted immediately after the death of the donor. However, kidney transplantation can be performed without causing damage to the life of the donor. According to 2010 statistics, “More than 10 percent of people, or more than 20 million, ages 20 years and older in the United States have Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)” (Kidney and Urologic Diseases Statistics for the United States). The above statistics clearly show the depth of the kidney related diseases in America. One of the major complexity associated with treating kidney diseases is the fact that medications may not work well for kidney diseases. Kidney transplantation seems to be the only option for many people who are suffering from kidney diseases. It should be noted that survival is extremely difficult if kidney started to fail. In fact the purification of the blood is conducted by the kidneys. It regulates acid-base balance, electrolyte concentrations, fluid volume blood pressure etc. Kidney performs these functions with the help of mechanisms such as filtration, reabsorption, and secretion. Filtration is the process of separating unwanted item from the blood. These unwanted items are disposed from the body through urine. Reabsorption and Secretion are the processes which help the transportation of items between blood and urine. In short, kidney is an important organ and without that nobody can survive. Under such circumstances, kidney donation should definitely be considered as a sacred act. Chris Chew (2007) has pointed out that the most controversial topics about organ trades are “the procurement and distribution of human organs for transplant and are centered on the questions of how do we get the organs and how do we decide who will receive organ transplants?” (Chew). All religions appreciate a person if he shows readiness in donating any of his organs to a person in need. Saving a life is a sacred act according to the principles of all religions. In fact Jesus Christ once told his disciples that a person having two clothes should give one cloth to another person who has no clothes. If that is a sacred act, then donation of a human organ is definitely much better sacred act. At the same time, it should be noted that some people trade their organs in order to make money. It is definitely an unethical behavior. Commercialization of human organs is definitely an unethical act which may create lot of social problems. It is quite possible that antisocial elements may force poor people to trade their organs for making money. There are many cases in which doctors perform unnecessary surgeries to steal kidneys from the body of the people for making profits. Amelia Gentleman reported for New York Times on January 30, 2008 “about 500 Indians whose kidneys were removed by a team of doctors running an illegal transplant operation, supplying kidneys to rich Indians and foreigners” (Gentleman). Moreover, CNN, February 8, 2008 has reported an incident in which a doctor’s involvement in about 300 kidney transplants (Police Parade Kidney-Snatching Mastermind). Majority of these kidney donors were poor people who fell the trap made by the doctors. Another major issue related to organ donation is the possibility of health problems to the donor and the receiver. Many people are of the view that it is difficult for both the donor and the receiver to survive long with the help of a single organ or foreign organ. In the case of receiver, the transplanted organ is a foreign organ whereas in the case of the donor, the lost organ increases the threats to his life. In other words, organ donation is causing threats to the lives of two people at the same time. It should be noted that the donor was a healthy person before the organ transplantation and he puts his life under threat knowingly or unknowingly through donation of his organ. Yosuke Shimazono (2010) has mentioned that a heightened frequency of medical complications, including the transmission of HIV and the hepatitis B and C viruses during organ transplant (Shimazono). To conclude, organ donation is a sacred act which helps many of the chronic patients to prolong their lives for few more years. At the same time, organ trading is an unethical act which may create lot of legal, social and ethical problems in a society. Organ donation should be performed with the complete consent of the donor. Under no circumstances, forcible organ donation can be justified. Organ donation can create future problems to the donor. The donor should be ready to face such consequences. Works Cited 1. “Police Parade Kidney-Snatching Mastermind”. 2008. CNN. 02/08/2008. Web. 27 November 2011. 2. Chew, Chris. “Legal And Ethical Issues Of Organ Transplants”. 2007. Web. 27 November 2011. 3. “Kidney and Urologic Diseases Statistics for the United States”. 2010. Web. 27 November 2011. 4. Nathana H.M., Conrad S.L., Held P.J., McCullough K.P., Pietroskid R.E., Siminoffe L.A. and Akinlolu O. “Organ Donation in the United States”. 2003. American Journal of Transplantation 2003; 3 (Suppl. 4): 29–40 5. Shimazono, Yosuke. “The State of the International Organ Trade: a Provisional Picture Based on Integration of Available Information”. 2010. Web. 27 November 2011. Read More