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Molly McSweeney
Ms. Gardner
Honors English 10/ Period 6
10 May 2016
The Organ Sale Scrutiny
Every day more than 118,000 people are waiting for kidneys, livers, hearts, and lungs.
These 118,000 people are in constant heartache since they are unaware of if or when they will be
able to have a transplant for an organ that they desperately need to survive. The sale of human
organs is a controversy that has captured the attention of doctors and patients all around the
world. One side of the argument is that the sale of organs should be legal because it will increase
the amount of donors, while the other side of the dispute is that the sale should be illegal because
of the societal impacts it will cause. 14 people die everyday as they wait for an organ transplant
(Buffalo News), so an increase in the quantity of organs available for transplant could possibly
help decrease that number; however, the National Organ Transplant Act 1984 outlaws the sale of
human organs. The sale is illegal in the United States, however some countries in the developing
world have no laws against the sale of human organs and the exchange frequently occurs. This
exchange often causes many problems in many aspects of life for the patients involved in the
process. The purchase of human organs should not be legal because the system contains societal,
economical and ethical issues that would affect the patient and the patients loved ones.
Initially, many believe that the sale of human organs should be legal because it would
increase the amount of willing donors around the world. If the amount of willing donors
increases, then the organ supply will increase. This would lead to less heartbreak for the patients
and the patients families. Sally Satel from USA Today states that compensating donors could

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spare us the heartbreak of rationing. The rationing of organs is a system that is disappointing to
many families around the world, since it results in so many patients not receiving an organ that
they so desperately need. To summarize, supporters of the sale of human organs believe that it is
beneficial towards the amount of willing donors. Indeed, many believe that the sale of human
organs will benefit patients. However, the sale of human organs should not be legalized because
it contains unethical aspects. In the article Cash for Kidneys Gaining Acceptance Dr. Braden
Manns of the University of Calgary conducted a survey that found that people responded best to
financial incentives when discussing the option of participating in an organ transplant and
reimbursement for funeral expenses for deceased donors and tax breaks for living donors.
Manns is proposing that in return for selling parts of the body the donor will receive money,
which completely ruins the idea of selflessly donating the needed organ to help the desperate
patient. The incentives may help increase the amount of willing donors, but how much is a
human body worth?
Indeed the sale of human organs could possibly help the amount of willing organ donors,
but there is no fact that shows that if there were financial incentives for organ donation an
increase in donations would occur. Nevertheless, when people look at how society will react to
the withholding of medical information it is hard it support the legalization of the sale of human
organs. Alexander Capron and Gabriel Danovitch of the LA Times recall that in places where it is
legal to buy organs, such as countries in the developing world, critical medical information may
be withheld, which causes even more health problems for the organ recipient because when
monetary gain replaces altruism as the motive for donation, medically critical information may
be withheld (Capron). Based on this research, the sale of human organs can cause drastic effects
on the people who are selling their own organs and receiving the organs. If medical information

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may be withheld, then the patient receiving the imperfect organ may have complications with it
later on in life; therefore the patient would then possibly need another transplant to fix the
imperfect one. Capron and Danovitch also recall that in countries such as Moldova, Pakistan and
the Philippines patients who sell their organs end up worse off healthwise than before the
transplant. If medical information is withheld, the patients will end up having worse health than
before, so what is the gain? In summation, why should the government legalize this act when
they know how it will affect some of the members of society?
Furthermore, research has shown that the rich will benefit more from the sale of human
organs than the poor will. Economists have estimated that if sold, a kidney from a live donor
could cost up to $15,000 (Buffalo News). Those who are rich will have greater access to these
organs because of how easily they can pay for the necessities, while those who are poor will find
it harder to receive a costly organ. The poor will put themselves at risk by hastily making a
decision to sell their organs without taking under consideration the effects of the surgery.
According to Nancy Scheper-Hughes of The Washington Post, families in Manila see the unsafe
exchange of their organs for money is necessary for the financial sake of the family. As a result,
the organ sale system will be dominated by the rich, which would leave the poorer candidates
without the vital organs needed to continue on with their lives.
Ultimately, the sale of human organs should not be legal because the system would be
unethical towards the treatment and view of the human body.The financial incentives for selling
an organ may appear attractive but the human body should be not have a price tag placed on it.
Julio Jorges Elias explains his concept of computing the correct price of selling an organ:
First of all you have to compensate the donor for the risk of dying in the surgery. The
second part is you have to compensate the donor for foregone earnings (while recovering

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from the procedure). And the third component is the most difficult one, the risk of
reducing the quality of your life. (Buffalo News)
The human body is too priceless to have a number attached to it and it is immoral to do so. The
human body is precious and a person should not be compensated for reducing the quality of
your life (Buffalo News). If a person were to reduce the quality of their life, it should be for
pure reasons and not for the reason of how much they will get paid. In countries like Bangladesh
and Pakistan, kidney sellers reference to the kidney extraction as the day of their death as it
refers to their economic, psychological and social decline (Scheper-Hughes). Most of the people
that are selling their kidneys are uneducated about the topic and are unaware of how the surgery
will affect the body even after the patient has healed. The patients will not be able to go live their
lives exactly like they used to because of the bodily restrictions such as not being able to lift
heavy objects or perform any other rigorous daily tasks. If the sale of human organs were legal,
then the system would be unprincipled and would ruin the beautiful sentiment of donating organs
for pure reasons.
In conclusion, the sale of human organs should not be legal because it is unfair and
unethical as it also contains societal, economical and ethical issues that could potentially affect
the patient and those around the patient. The sale of human organs would create an unfair system
that benefits the rich, immorally encourages people to sell their body, and takes away the
generous action of donating organs for pure reasons. The human body shouldnt have a price tag
attached to it. The amount of organs ready for transplant are drastically lower than the amount
needed to save many lives, but becoming a registered organ donor is a small act that has the
potential to make a big change in someones life.

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Works Cited
"Poor Would Be Selling Organs to Rich People, Not Vice Versa." Buffalo News. 06 Apr. 2014: p.
G.18. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
Capron, Alexander M., and Gabriel Danovitch. "We Shouldn't Treat Kidneys as Commodities."
Los

Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.

Komarnicki, Jamie. "'Cash For Kidneys' Gaining Acceptance." Calgary Herald. 28 Sep. 2012: p.
A.1.

SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 10 May 2016.

Satel, Sally. "Dying Children Shouldn't Have to Beg for Organs." USA TODAY. 12 Jun. 2013: p.
A.6.

SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.

Scheper-Hughes, Nancy. "The Market for Human Organs Is Destroying Lives." Washington Post.
The

Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2016. Web. 5 May 2016.