Essay About Rethinking the Ethics of Prisoner Organ Donation

There is a great need in today's society for donated organs, so why not allow prisoners to donate? It makes no sense to let such a valuable and needed asset to society go to waste, especially when the prisoner is offering them of his or her own free will. There are many things to take into account when dealing with such a significant and urgent matter, like the ethics of the choice and the matter of whether the whole operation is a "two-way street"   

The ethics of prisoner organ harvesting at first seem straightforward, seeing as prisoners are people too, they should be allowed to make the decision themselves. While there is no specific study to prove whether incarcerated people actually feel a need to put back into society what they took out, it's only human to regret and try to fix actions from the past. The reason this is controversial is that it's possible for people who donate organs while in jail to receive special treatment for doing so. This is not reasonable as that puts a price on human organs, which the U.S. has sought not to do in the first place.

Some thoughts on the matter of donating organs is that it in itself is a taboo, while no such thing should exist as it has an ethically stable base. These accusations of a taboo are supported by the belief prisoners might receive different treatment based on whether they donate their organs or not. This is easily solvable by just not offering any sort of special deal to persuade the prisoner to donate his or her organs. If such a thing is unavoidable, it's always possible to keep those who donated a secret among people who don't need to know. The ethics of prison organ donation may seem unclear at first, upon visiting all options, it may seem applicable in the future.

Whether prisoners are allowed to donate organs shouldn't even be questioned, as the need for organs in today's society is something that cannot be overlooked, even when the donor is willing to give theirs at no expense at all.