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Hayden Lee
Tolk
ELA 12
18 March 2015
The Business of Organ Transplants
As medicine continues to advance in our world today, it is becoming easier and
easier to transfer internal organs to the people who need them. This growing enterprise
has some people asking why dont we sell our organs to make a profit, and has become a
hotly debated topic recently. Pros and cons have been weighed often, yet people who
have influence or interest in this matter cannot come to a conclusion on what is ethically
correct.
The buying and selling of human organs needs to remain illegal, and not enough
of an effort is being put forth to enforce the laws that already exist. First among the
victims of illegal organ trade are the poor, as this practice puts their health in danger.
They are vulnerable not only to profiteers of black market harvesting rings, but to
themselves as they may resort to almost anything to survive. If the organ trade is
legalized, this problem will only increase. Although potentially a legitimate business, the
business of harvesting and trading organs will undoubtedly be accompanied by
corruption. The impact organ sales would have on poor, desperate people alone makes
this practice ethically wrong and it should not be a part of our society.
All across the world, people are in great need of an organ transplant, but there just
isnt enough supply. Some people want the sale of organs to be legalized so the supply
will grow. Many risks accompany this potential new law. There are black markets and

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scandals regarding the trade of human organs. The people overseeing these scandals look
to prey on the poor and desperate. In some places they even hire people to seek out
people to take advantage of, and many times they are cheated (Buhattacharjee 1) into
giving an organ which is then sold for more than ten times what was originally paid.
Illegal organ rings are a major problem that victimize many.
As previously stated, many poor people are in such a desperate financial situation
that they are willing to do anything to put food on the table. Including giving away their
body parts. In Serbia, a couple, hoping for some economic turn-around, posted their
kidneys in the online classifieds for $40,000. When questioned about their sale they said
they will do anything to survive and when you need to put food on the table, selling a
kidney doesnt seem like much of a sacrifice (Bilefsky 1). Poverty has caused them to
lose sight of the risks involved with sacrificing an organ for money, as they seem to be
indifferent that such action could cost them their very lives. Such poverty among the
needy offers great leverage to sellers. Also, when money is on the line and somebody is
in a bad situation, medically critical information may be withheld (Capron/Danovitvh
1). Before a typical organ transplant, doctors will delve deep into the details of medical
history in order to keep the procedure as safe as possible. When important information is
withheld from physicians, it puts both the donor and recipient in danger. In cases that the
organ is donated without pay, people will not keep information to themselves. If the
donor is in need of money, lives can be lost more easily. Payment for organs brings far
too many risks to the surface and allows people to take advantage of other peoples needs.
Another critical reason that organs should not be available for sale is because it
would become a business and every business has the possibility of becoming corrupt.

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Amit Kumar was the head of an illegal kidney busness in which he shortchanged many
donors leaving them disgruntled (Bhattacharjee 1) and without a kidney. The only
goal that makes a business function is the possibility of earning money for many people
and sometimes the only way to reach that goal is to not care for customers in the way
they should. This type of action creates poor customer service and can bring harm to
patients. The health care field is not one that can be so easily forgiven for poor customer
service. If an organ sale company were to come about, they would search high and low
for ways to make money off of their patients, even if that means putting concern for their
health last. Kidney Hunters (Bhattacharjee 1) are people who try to convince others to
give kidneys for a low pay, much like a salesman. This type of behavior is inappropriate
in a medical environment. Instead of only looking to make a profit, people in health care
should be concerned with the patients health and well being. The practice of handling
human organs needs to be run by people who care about helping others, not by gluttonous
men. A price tag cannot be applied to a persons life.
The final reason that organ sales should not be made legal is because we currently
have many black markets and scandals concerning organs, and little is being done to stop
it. One of these scandals was headed by Anut (Dr. Horror) Kumar in India. Kumar used to
hire individuals to find and offer men anywhere from $500 to $2,500 for their kidney
(Bhattacharjee 1) depending on their poverty level. There is a significant chance that
there are many more scandals like this one across the world, but little is being done to
stop it. Programs need to be put in place to find and arrest the scandal members. The most
effective way to stop illegal business is to track them down and end them. Scandals and
black market sales are not only done by individuals. It seems that some governments

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have become involved as well. Evidence has surfaced that suggests that the Chinese
government has been harvesting organs for many years. Even though few Chinese
people voluntarily donate organs, China stands next behind the US in yearly organ
transplants (Chinas 1). How can this be possible with so few donations? It has become a
worldwide agreement that no country will use the organs of condemed criminals for
transplants, but according to a Chinese health official, they have been getting most of
their organs from executed people. More and more evidence is starting to pile up about
the growing numbers of illegal organ scandals. These numbers will continue to grow
unless somebody begins to put a stop to it.
Some people may argue that the opportunity to save lives is enormous
(Darst 1). They could also suggest that the government be the only organization handling
the organ business to ensure that customers were protected. Another claim could be that
buying organs legally would abolish the black market and scams entirely. These are all
very valid points that favor organ purchases.
Although many of the ideas mentioned in the previous paragraph could potential
be legitimate situations, they could only be realistic in an ideal world. We are certainly
not living in an ideal world, but one in which people frequently do wrong and unethical
things. Yes, the possibility of saving many lives is great, but is it really worth risking the
lives of many more in the process because people are selfish and greedy enough to
withold critical medical information? Wouldnt the poor population still be targeted by
paid donations? The black market for organs would not come to an end because people
would continue to search for the lowest priced organs that may not be available when
going through the government program. It was stated earlier that the Chinese government

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stands above the law (Chinas 2) and performs illegal procedures for their profit with
no real consequences. Any government could get away with this with much less evidence
against them with a legal organ payment system. An ideal society is the only society that
this kind of program could function in, and we are not living in an ideal society.
Purchasing organs is currently an illegal practice across most of the world and
needs to stay illegal. A lot of attention is being brought to the hot debate concerning the
legalization of selling organs and it is starting to be pushed onto many governments. The
only way to prevent legalization is to weigh the risks and rewards of organ sales. When
this is done, the problems should always outweigh the benefits. Governments across the
world need to keep in mind that legalizing organ sales could create a lot of issues.
Ways to prevent black markets and scams also needs to be addressed. In order to
get rid of these issues, each nation needs to create their own agency, like the FBI or
similar agencies, to search for problems and remedy them. They must be frequently
monitoring the internet, making sure that a new market has not surfaced in their country.
They must also search for scam artists who are targetting poor people in need, such as
what has happened in India. This would be the most effective way to stop illegal organ
sales in every country.
Organ sales are currently illegal and must stay that way. Very little effort is being
put into the fight against illegal organ purchases that are already happening in our world.
If this becomes a legal practice, peoples health will be put in danger, the poor population
will be targeted, and it will become a corrupt business. This is a law that protects the
people of this world and should not be changed. Abandoning our long standing

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prohibition on buying organs would lead us into an unethical minefield with negative
repercussions (Capron/Danovitch 2).

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Sources Cited.
Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit. Caveat Donor. Atlantic 302.5 (2008): 25 MAS complete. Web
10 Mar 2015.
Bilefsky, Dan. "Black market for body parts spreads among the poor in Europe." New
York Times 29 June 2012: A8(L). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Mar.
2015.
Capron, Alexander M, and Gabriel Danovitch. "Kidneys Aren't Commodities." Los
Angeles Times. 30 Jun. 2014: p. A.13. SIRS Issues Researcher.Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
Chinas Illegal Organ Harvesting: Transplant Consent In Theory Only.Washington
Times 19 sept 2012. Opposing viewpoints in context. 10 Mar. 2015
Darst, Guy. "Organ of change: Time to allow legal kidney sales." Boston Herald 18 Nov.
2007: 023. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
Sources Consulted
New Law Targets Illegal Organ Transplants. Africa News Service 5 July 2011.
Opposing Viewpoints in context. Web 1 Mar. 2015