Illegal Organ Donation on the Rise...
A recent article located at CNN.com is exploring the increasing percentage of illegal organ donations and exposing the organizers and contributors to black market rings. Concerns are being raised with our government and policing efforts in cracking down such organizations. Many believe that the FBI or various hospital administrations are not giving this issue the proper attention it deserves.
This article makes me doubtful that anything major will ever change with the cracking down of illegal organ donations. There is so much going on with our country that it's easy for our society to just give up. We are at war, our economy has taken a major turn for the worse, we are battling major issues like health care reform and saving Social Security. I don't think anyone ever takes this issue seriously unless they are faced with the immediate need of a new organ. If the day ever comes that you find yourself in need, then you may be forced to question your ethics or morals.
There are many impoverished citizens of countries all around the world that would gladly sell one of their kidneys for $20,000 and apparently they aren't too hard to find. This article states that 10% of kidney transplants worldwide are thought to be illegal. Frankly, I'm shocked the percentage is that low. It's very difficult to find an exact match and what makes matters even worse is that the surgery is so horrible. Not only do you lose one of your vital organs, they literally have to saw you in half to perform the surgery. Throwing money into the equation certainly entices people from the lower socioeconomic range. For many of these people the chance of getting that much money in their lifetime is worth the risk. We have to be careful how we approach this topic because when that much money is involved, crime is going to rise. We have all seen movies or television programs where people wake up in a bathtub of ice missing a kidney. This isn't an urban legend, these crimes really happen. Maybe we don't hear about it happening everyday but that doesn't mean the threat doesn't exist.
Hospitals try to do their part in assuring the process is legal. Realistically, there is little they can do. Their policy is to have both parties interviewed separately with specialists and ethicists, but as the hospital executive states in the article, "We're not detectives, we're not the FBI." Their focus is on the medicine and science required to preform such surgeries. The interviewing and screening process takes about two months. And in many instances they will find out after the surgeries that they have been "duped." With little to no consequences to either party.
Organ Donation is an infuriating process. It leaves people desperate for hope and willing to do anything to save their own life. Waiting on an organ with no help from family or friends can literally take years. People shouldn't result to crime to resolve their problems, it only makes matter worse. But the temptation does exist, especially when our government does nothing to make it harder for people to attain these organs.
This article makes me doubtful that anything major will ever change with the cracking down of illegal organ donations. There is so much going on with our country that it's easy for our society to just give up. We are at war, our economy has taken a major turn for the worse, we are battling major issues like health care reform and saving Social Security. I don't think anyone ever takes this issue seriously unless they are faced with the immediate need of a new organ. If the day ever comes that you find yourself in need, then you may be forced to question your ethics or morals.
There are many impoverished citizens of countries all around the world that would gladly sell one of their kidneys for $20,000 and apparently they aren't too hard to find. This article states that 10% of kidney transplants worldwide are thought to be illegal. Frankly, I'm shocked the percentage is that low. It's very difficult to find an exact match and what makes matters even worse is that the surgery is so horrible. Not only do you lose one of your vital organs, they literally have to saw you in half to perform the surgery. Throwing money into the equation certainly entices people from the lower socioeconomic range. For many of these people the chance of getting that much money in their lifetime is worth the risk. We have to be careful how we approach this topic because when that much money is involved, crime is going to rise. We have all seen movies or television programs where people wake up in a bathtub of ice missing a kidney. This isn't an urban legend, these crimes really happen. Maybe we don't hear about it happening everyday but that doesn't mean the threat doesn't exist.
Hospitals try to do their part in assuring the process is legal. Realistically, there is little they can do. Their policy is to have both parties interviewed separately with specialists and ethicists, but as the hospital executive states in the article, "We're not detectives, we're not the FBI." Their focus is on the medicine and science required to preform such surgeries. The interviewing and screening process takes about two months. And in many instances they will find out after the surgeries that they have been "duped." With little to no consequences to either party.
Organ Donation is an infuriating process. It leaves people desperate for hope and willing to do anything to save their own life. Waiting on an organ with no help from family or friends can literally take years. People shouldn't result to crime to resolve their problems, it only makes matter worse. But the temptation does exist, especially when our government does nothing to make it harder for people to attain these organs.
Wow. Your right, no one ever does bring this issue to light. Your response was really thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteI wonder since the economy is doing so poorly, how many Americans have turned to this or looked into it? The majority of the illegal transplants are not US citizens according to this article. I can say that if one of my kids needed one, i would go to the end of the world looking for one.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say I would also go to the end of world to find one for my kids. With that being said there is no way I could take part in the steeling of one. If one is found I am not saying I would turn it away either. It would be a decision I hope I never have to deal with.
ReplyDelete