<Course>
Human organs for sale! As odd as it may sound, there is really an existing industry that caters to those who need organ replacement to save and prolong their lives. However, this industry is not legal, and it is commonly known as the organ black market. As of January 2016, the National Kidney Foundation reports that more than 100,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for kidney transplants. A person, on the average, needs to wait around 3 years before getting a donor. Aside from kidney, many other organs are also in demand, such as liver and heart. The gap between the demand and the supply of organs leaves some patients desperate to find a source that will provide them hope for survival. This desperation becomes the fuel for the organ black market. Black market is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as an “illicit trade in goods or commodities in violation of official regulations” (“Black Market”). On the contrary, the organ black market is more than just an illegal trade. It is also a deceptive system that further widens the gap between the rich and the poor.
First of all, the organ black market is a deceptive system because it misleads the poor into thinking that selling their organs can help improve their lives. Clearly, selling an organ will not improve one’s life because most often than not, those who sell are paid only a little amount. According to studies, many sellers are illiterate and they live below the poverty line. Their reason for selling their organs is to pay debts; unfortunately, they still get back into debt after a while because of the insufficient funds to start a new life (Adair and Wigmore 191). Aside from this, their capacity to earn money is also negatively affected. Adair and Wigmore add that “many fall back into debt, often compounded by the inability to work following donation due to ill health (191). With a reduced capacity to work, those who sell their organs eventually find themselves deeper down the pit of poverty.
Furthermore, the organ black market is clearly a deceptive system because it makes the rich people think that buying organs is a win-win situation. After all, the rich are paying enormous amounts of money to get the organ that they need. According to Tomlinson, rich patients usually pay up to $200,000 for an organ. However, this amount of money goes to the middlemen, often a gang, and not to the source of the organ (Tomlinson). On the other hand, the poor individuals who sell their organs only receive roughly around $3000 (Tomlinson). One of the most common organs being sold is the kidney because a person only needs one of these two survive. With the rising number of diabetic patients, the need for kidneys also increases. In fact, the World Health Organization reports that in India alone, 2000 people are selling their kidneys annually (qtd. in Tomlinson). Unfortunately, the organs are often harvested in unregulated facilities. This poses great health risk to the paid donors. Whether or not the rich buyers of the organs know about how much people are being exploited by the organ black market, the truth is that is never creates a win-win situation.
Overall, there remains a significant number of people who are willing to buy and sell organs for the sake of living and making a living. The industry presents itself as a savior to the poor, those who need to pay their debts or support their basic needs. It also presents itself as a fair trade to those who are desperate to live and are capable of paying enormous amount of money, thinking that they are extending financial aid to the poor who are willing to lose their organ for economic benefit. However, the organ black market is nothing but a deceptive system that makes the poor people more unfortunate and the rich people more privileged.
Works Cited
Adair, Anya and Stephen Wigmore. “Paid Organ Donation: The Case Against.” Annals of the Royal College Surgeons England, vol. 93, 2011, pp. 188-192.
Black Market. Merriam-Webster, 2017. Web. < https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/black+market >.
National Kidney Foundation. “Organ Donation and Transplant Statistics.” National Kidney Foundation., n.d., Web. < https://www.kidney.org/news/newsroom/factsheets/Organ-Donation-and-Transplantation-Stats>.
Tomlinson, Simon. “Inside The Illegal Hospitals Performing Thousands of Black Market Organ Transplants Every Year for $200,000 a Time.” Daily Mail, 9 April 2015, Web. < http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3031784/Inside-illegal-hospitals-performing-thousands-black-market-organ-transplants-year-200-000-time.html >.
