Exploratory Essay: Selling Organs, Saving Lives

There are over 114,000 people on the waiting list for an organ transplant (American Transplant Foundation). Some of these people have been hoping for years that one day they will find a match and be able to complete the process for getting a new organ. Ninety-five percent of Americans agree that organ donation is a good cause that increases the quality of life for people in need (Life Center). Unfortunately, out of those ninety-five percent only fifty-four percent have registered to be an organ donor (Life Center). Many people like the idea of doing good deeds, but are scared by the potential danger it may cause them. Without any guarantee of a reward makes them decide to not act on their beliefs and instead sit around while these 114,000 people suffer without fully functioning organs. So how do we fix this problem? The sale of organs is the solution we have been looking for.
There is a large number of people who may say the sale of organs is a bad idea. When asked during a visit to Arcadia Valley High School to discuss her story as a live organ donor Sue Johnson stated, “I don’t think people should be allowed to sell their organs. It may cause them to do it for the wrong reasons.” For some cases this could be true. There would probably be many people who would try to sell their organs so they could get a paycheck, but it could also encourage others who are on the fence to take the leap and give someone the chance at a better life with a new organ. Another way to solve the greediness of this problem is giving out the payments in things like scholarships, or debt removal. This ensures the money will be spent in a responsible way and the deed will be out of care instead of greed.
By giving people the incentive of money, a larger amount of people will likely give organs especially while they are still alive. When giving things such as a kidney or a liver, live donations usually function immediately. It is not common but in some cases of donations from deceased donors the organs do not function right away and the patient must be on dialysis until the organ is functioning correctly (American Transplant Foundation.)
The final reason people may be concerned about selling their organs is their health in the future. What if later on they need an organ because they sold one of theirs to help a person in need, but now their organ isn’t functioning correctly. In the current health care system in America, organ donors are put higher on the list if they are ever in need of an organ transplant (Johnson.) The same would be done for someone who sold an organ as they are in the same situation as a regular donor. This gives people the comfort of knowing that they will be taken care of in the future if they are ever in need.
With the numerous benefits of the organ selling program compared to the small number of potential disadvantages it is hard to see why the plan shouldn’t be put into action. As we continue more people will see the lives that can be saved by simply adding a small incentive to create more excitement to a good cause.