Essay on Unraveling the Issues of Compensated Organ Donations

Introduction Compensated organ donations – one of the most controversial issues we have today. The scarcity of organ donations in America is the main reason there is a sudden diversion of possible source of organs. Beginning with donations of organs from cadaver to living donors, different strategies sprung just to reduce the said shortage; as a result of this quest, sale and paid organs is one of the approaches that gathered too much attention from the public. The controversy of paid organ donations entered the limelight when the state of Wisconsin offered incentives to the living donors. This law, which was created in the year 2004, grants tax deduction and repayment of donation expenses such as travel cost and lost earnings.†¦show more content†¦Moreover, it also violates human dignity because it treats the organs and human body parts as commodities. Not to mention the fact that such action weakens and demoted altruism. However, the real picture of compensated organ donations i s actually the opposite of â€Å"unethical and self-interest†; it promotes life and therefore regarded as a good and moral deed. Organ Donation’s Supply and Demand Knowing the rate of supply and demand of organ donation helps in establishing a clear background about the issue. For instance, Monti (2009) explained the reality of supply and demand of kidneys. The supply of this organ coming from deceased and altruistic donors are not enough to support the demand of those individuals who are in need. Approximately there are 73,000 people who wait for kidney donations and 18 of those who are in the wait list will die by tomorrow. Accordingly, the list is being added by 6,000 individuals every year. An individual has to wait for five years before he/she can get an organ donation. The facts and figures presented by Monti shows that there is a big gap between the supply and demand of organ donations . The Center for Bioethics (2004) gave supplementary details on the issue of organ shortage. In their article â€Å"ethics of organ transplantation† they said that United Network for Organ Sharing or UNOS keeps a comprehensive figure on the present status of people who need organ transplants and presently there more than