Organ Sales, The Boundaries of
Charles Krauthammer’s article “Yes Lets Pay for Organs” appeared in Time Magazine on May 17, 1999. Krauthammer disputes paying for organs that come from the dead is fine, but buying organs from the living is degrading. This controversial subject, buying organs from live people, not only violates federal laws but lowers a person’s self- image of human dignity. Even though there is a huge organ shortage throughout the United States, that does not make it right for people to sell parts of themselves for money. Will the rich be tempted to sale their organs for an extra three hundred dollars? Of course not, it is the poor who will be made a commodity of organ selling, not the rich. If paying money for organs helps replenish the supply for people who need them, so be it.
One state that agrees with the following idea is Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania plans to begin paying the relatives of organ donors three hundred dollars, to help ease funeral expenses. Even though this sounds great, rewarding organ donations violates a federal law made in 1984. This federal law states that organs are a national resource, not objects that are taken out of you when you die. Due to this law, and the controversy of pricing organs, the demand needed to expand the supply has increased.
According to Krauthammer’s article, there are Sixty-two thousand Americans desperately awaiting an organ transplant. However because of the increased demand for organs, there are hardly enough to go around. Paying money for organs seems like a great solution in alleviating the problem, but the author thought it was kind of odd that no one had offered money for organs. If paying money is what it takes in order to increase the supply and save lives, then lets do it.
Unfortunately there are a few major drawbacks toward assessing this situation. For example Pennsylvania’s idea, about rewarding money for organs, will greatly affect the poor. A three hundred-dollar reward will not be enough money for a rich person to donate his/her organs. Primarily lower class people will take advantage of this situation, because they are in need for money. In addition the poor will not only benefit from this situation, but everyone else will too. Simply because every time someone donates an organ,...