The law in most of the countries has prohibited the sale of body organs. Although the organs are considered the property of an individual, the government still control and determine if they can sell their organs at choice (Atkinson & Sargent, 2007). The US government allows hospitals to harvest organs of dead individuals if their family does not claim them. However, in countries such as Spain, the government has allowed hospitals to harvest organs from the dead by enacting a law that allows hospitals to harvest organs from the dead unless the person had left a will prohibiting the harvest. Most of the systems across the world depend on altruism to get the required organs (Hansson, 2006). Legalizing the sale of kidneys would have both benefits and costs to the seller.
One of the benefits of legalizing the sale kidneys would be the financial freedom of the sellers. According to statistics, most of the people willing to sell their organs are poor (Taylor, 2006). High poverty levels drive people into finding all means to eradicate poverty in their lives. One of the easiest ways that people could use is selling kidneys. The kidney patients are often willing to pay large amounts of money in order to ensure that they get the organ they require. Those in need of the financial freedom, therefore, would not only manage to meet their financial needs with the money paid to them, but they would also be able to start businesses of their choice. Selling kidneys would thus be an efficient way of eradicating poverty in the world.
Legalizing the sale of kidneys would also be beneficial since it would lead to an increase in the number of lives saved through transplants. The current system requires that kidney donors not charge anything for the organs they choose to donate. The donors therefore do not see any need to donate their organs, as it does not benefit them in any way. Allowing for legal sale of kidney would encourage more people to think about the possibility of donating their kidneys because they would benefit financially. The increase in donations would help ensure that more people in need of kidneys get them and that their life expectancy is increased by approximately 20 years (Becker & Elias, 2014).
Legalization of one being able to sell their kidney would further be beneficial to the patients and their families because it would save the money that they would have spent in medication and dialysis of the patients (Castillo, 2013). Although the patient would pay higher prices for the transplant due to the kidney costs, it would still be cheaper for them in the end. The cost incurred through dialysis is high. The process has to be done constantly, thus the accumulative costs is very high. Clark, (2013) also highlights that transplant operation is done once, hence upon paying the cost of operation, the patient does not have to pay for more costs. The patient can also work after the operation, which helps ascertain that they can earn the money they used to meet their medical expenses.
When people are able to sell their own kidneys, the government will be able to control the black market more effectively. The government developed a law that is meant to protect donors from manipulative people interested in their organs. Making the sale of kidneys encourages interested persons to research the black market where they can be compensated for their donation (Berger, 2011). The best way that the government could prevent the coercion in the organs market would be to legalize donation. It would enable the government to protect the donors as well as ensure that the beneficiary properly compensates them. This would lead to a decrease of the black market activities since more donors would be willing to donate legally.
Legalization of the sale of kidneys would also be beneficial to donors as they would be more aware of the exact risks of donating an organ. Most people opt to sell their organs in the black market since the legal system does not allow them to be paid. Those that opt to sell their organs in the black market are not aware of the problems that the donation may pose to them later on in their lives. However, legalization of sale of organs would serve to ensure that the donors are well informed about the risks before undergoing the operation. This will help ascertain that none of the donors is surprised after the donation concerning the challenges that they face brought by the donation.
Despite its benefits, legalization of the sale of organs would be a cost. One of the costs that the donor would incur from the sale of the organ would be the inability to donate a kidney to one of his or her loved ones (Brennan, 2015). Another important cost to note is that the person will have only one kidney remaining, he or she will not be in a position to donate to them the required kidney (Taylor, 2006). This may lead to the loss of loved ones since they may be unable to get a willing donor in time. The person may therefore regret selling their kidney as they may have donated it to their loved one.
The sale of organs would also be a disadvantage to the poor people in need of kidneys (Berger, 2011). The prices of kidneys would be high in the market due to the high demand. The poor would feel the effect of these prices, as they would not manage to raise the required fee. They would have to compete with the rich patients, which would make it almost impossible for them to get the required kidney. The current system serves to protect the poor from being discriminated due to lack of required money (Steinbock, 2009). It helps more people get the required organs without incurring high costs.
The sale of kidneys would also be a cost to the donor. This is because in case they develop diseases such as diabetes, their body will find it difficult to deal with the situation (Castillo, 2013). It will have insufficient required organs. This may make it painful for them and nearly impossible for them to recover. They may further suffer from their sale of kidney because they would have to seek a donor in case the remaining kidney fails. This may lead them to incur the costs of dialysis. This situation would be avoided if the person does not sell their kidney. They would thus have a working kidney incase of the failure of one (Starr, 2016). This would enable them to continue living comfortably.
In conclusion, the legalization of sale of kidneys would be both beneficial and disadvantageous. Its benefits would include the increased rates of saving of lives through transplants, donors earning a living; better control of the black market, saving money spent in dialysis and increased awareness amongst donors of the potential risks that the donation would pose. The legalization would however be disadvantageous in the decreased number of poor people that would benefit from the program, the inability to donate to a loved one and the medical risks that the donation posed to the donor. The country would benefit greatly from the legalization of the sale of organs thus it should be considered for adoption as part of the law.
References
Atkinson, L. & Sargent, N. (2007). Private law, social life: an introduction. Markham, Ont: LexisNexis Canada.
Becker, G. & Elias, J. (2014). Cash for kidneys: The case for a market for organs. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on June 19, 2016 from http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304149404579322560004817176
Berger, A. (2011). Why selling kidneys should be legal. New York Times. Retrieved on June 19, 2016 from http://nytimes.com/2011/12/06/opinion/why-selling-kidneys-should-be-legal.html
Brennan, J. (2015). Should people be allowed to sell their own organs? Retrieved on June 19, 2016 from https://panampost.com/editor/2015/09/16/should-people-be-allowed-to-sell-their-own-organs/
Castillo, M. (2013). Ethical dilemmas surround those willing to sell, buy kidneys on black market. CBS NEWS. Retrieved on June 19, 2016 from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ethical-dilemmas-surround-those-willing-to-sell-buy-kidneys-on-black-market
Clark, M. (2013). Selling your organs: should it be legal? Do you own yourself? Forbes. Retrieved on June 19, 2016 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/marciaclark/2013/06/13/selling-your-organs-should-it-be-legal-do-you-own-yourself/2/
Hansson, S. (2006). Bodily rights and property rights. Journal of Medical Ethics, 32(4). 209-214.
Starr, C. (2016). Biology: the unity and diversity of life. Sydney: Cengage Learning.
Steinbock, B. (2009). Ethical issues in modern medicine: contemporary readings in bioethics. Boston: McGraw Hill.
Taylor, J. (2006). Black markets, transplant kidneys and interpersonal coercion. Journal of Medical Ethics, 32(12). 698-701.
