Medical science is one of the industries that have developed immensely. As a result of these developments, organ transports lately are more or less routine operations in most hospitals. Regrettably, the existing approaches of acquiring human organs are not satisfying the demand. In an attempt to fill the existing gap between supply and demand of human organs, new procurement methods are being put into consideration (Cherry, 2005). Commercialization of organ transplants is one such method. Nevertheless, this approach has emerged as one of the controversial issue in the field of medicine. Particularly, various arguments for and against the same, have been put forth. Besides, ethical aspects are yet another concern over commercialization of human organs (Taylor, 2004).
On the other hand, one of the arguments that have been raised against commercialization of human organs is the risk involved. Encouraging sale of human organs could encourage organ trafficking as well as unwarranted and intolerable levels of harm. Besides, there is a possibility that this approach could compromise the quality of health care that people receive, especially when an individual sells future rights to his/her organs (Wilkinson, 2011). Particularly, doctors are likely to give little attention to individuals suffering from life threatening condition it their organs seem to be harvestable. Lastly, it is argued that financial incentives tend to make valid consent problematic or impossible. In fact, sometimes it makes individuals to act the way they could not have otherwise done (Cherry, 2005).
According to my opinion, commercialization of human organs for transplant should not be encouraged. It would not be morally right to consider the human body as a pool of alienable spare parts. In fact, this is likely to encourage a dehumanizing predisposition. Furthermore, if corpse organs are perceived a community resource, the significance of the cultural of burial could lose meaning (Wilkinson, 2011). On the same note, this is likely to encourage the technology of creating babies with specific genes to serve as donors because of the readily available market. Finally, my argument is could best be explained based on the virtue ethics approach of normative theory. According to the virtue ethics, emphasis is placed on moral character or virtues, and not rules or duties (Cherry, 2005). Therefore, it discourages people from engaging in commercialization of human organs for any reasons, may it be financial or moral obligations. Nevertheless, as mentioned above this is a controversial issue, and it has its pros and cons.
References
Cherry, M. J. (2005). Kidney for sale by owner: Human organs, transplantation, and the market. Washington, D.C: Georgetown University Press.
Taylor, J. S. (2004). Stakes and kidneys: Why markets in human body parts are morally imperative. Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate Pub.
Wilkinson, T. M. (2011). Ethics and the acquisition of organs. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
