Human Organ Transplant Tourism
It feels good to see that people are enthusiastically forthcoming with their views and opinions on issues that are not often discussed. Euthanasia was one such issue. Situations and personal emotions play a great role in influencing thoughts on such topics.
The need for human organs and its commercialization in the market is another burning issue which pops up quite often. What are the questions that plague such an important subject?
Human Spare Parts For Sale
It is a fact the human body is vulnerable and is prone to wear and tear. We may be fine, hale and hearty for years when suddenly, out of the blue we are told that we might need an organ transplant. Where do we go? Who do we approach? How long do we have to wait till we can get the organ we want so desperately and urgently? Will we be getting a voluntary donation? Most often, organ transplants don’t come easily.
“You are in queue,” we are told.
Will we be alive when our number comes?
So, the only option out is to purchase the organ, which could be a kidney, a liver, a cornea or some such organ that is readily available in the organ market. But, trade in organs is banned in spite of the fact that there are innumerable people waiting to get an organ transplant to increase their chances of living more. It is because of this huge demand for certain organs like kidneys that people are willing to go to any extreme to get hold of an organ.
That was about purchasing an organ. What about the seller? It is well known that the incentive for most people to sell their organs is more economical than anything else. Many among the sellers are people wanting to pay off their debts, get their daughters married or maybe get a house. No wonder, many such people are exploited as they sell their organs for meager amounts, unaware of the possible dangers that follow such surgeries while the middlemen make a lot of money selling the organ to some rich client. There have been numerous cases where a man has gone in for some other treatment and has had his organ removed. The most disgusting part is that many doctors and hospitals are hand in glove with the illegal traders, minting money at the cost of poor, vulnerable and innocent people.
So, is a trade in organs right?
“Why not,” you might ask. “If the seller is voluntarily selling it, why should we bother about the reasons for his selling?”
Don’t you think it is exploitation?
“Why? After all, I am not getting it for free and if the government is not helping me by stupidly banning an organ market, I might as well get it through someone else.”
This is the common, normal and expected reaction from all people in need of an organ transplant.
On the other end, there are people fearing that families could ask for removal of life support of the very sick (like in the brain dead patients) in order to sell their organs. Hopefully, relatives of such patients will not become so insensitive but you never know.
With bidding of organs on the net, mentally and physically deranged people getting forced to part with their organs, and even executed prisoners forcibly getting their organs harvested where are we heading? In this free society, is selling organs a fundamental right? Sale of human organs seems to help the buyer and the seller. The buyer gets his organ and can continue living a prolonged life while the seller temporarily manages to solve his financial problems but, should organ sale be based on the need of the patient or the ability of the person to pay more?
Is the ban in organ sale causing illegal trade or will legal trade only make the organ sale more commercialized and transformed into an organ cottage industry?
What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences.
Total exploitation. What does a human being have if not his body's organs? To sell or buy even that is totally inhumane. Having said that, the system makes it worse. There is no awareness nor much of a drive about organ donation before and after death. This makes sufferers desperate obviously.
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That's true Nayantara.Not only are people insensitive about the needs of others, they make a scam of it all and the people suffering just suffer.
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Each of us have a social responsibility to donate our organs after death. Corneas are in such short supply in India,yet people don't donate them and we still have to get a lot of them from Sri Lanka.Like our wealth, we cannot take our organs with our souls into our next life. If more people donate, the kind of situation that you describe will not arise.
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True, we cannot carry our body or its parts into the other world. But, donation seems to have not caught up with the people here as yet. Although people are aware that there is a dying need for certain body organs, not all think of donating them. Thanks for reading Beyniaz.
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Thanks shail for this thought provoking article on this sensitive issue. All this is fine to read. But think of the patient who is urgently in need of organ. He has no time to wait. Any illegal trade flourishes only due to absence of official support. It is time to wake up the official machinery....
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That's exactly the point. My article raises questions about the buyer and the seller, the person in selling the organ and the person in desperate need of it. Something urgent needs to be done so that people get their needs for human organs satiated and there is no exploitation.
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Voluntary organ donations have to be encouraged and money transactions should be a strict no. An important blog.
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Thanks Irene for considering the issue important. Not many people seem to think of it until someone close is in dire need of a transplant.
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An interesting blog, something to think about--but each of us have different views. Some agree whereas the others are against the whole idea.
Moi feels it's an individual's prerogative to do as he/she wants to, a kind of social service that an individual does without expecting anything in return. The sad thing is we see very few people who wish to donate their organs. We don't realize the necessity to do until we feel the dire need of the same.
Rgds Jess
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That's true. We all think differently. What I was trying to emphasize is that there should be more of organ donation than exploitation. Thanks for reading Jess.
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Hi,nice to read such conscientious and sensitive comments. Just curious to know- how many have actually pledged to donate their own organs after death? ( I carry an eye donation card on me since 16 years!)
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That's great Seema, that you have pledged to donate your eyes. Not every body does that. So, the world is not that bad. There are people like you.
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You have raised a good question Shail.
Both have their flip sides. In my opinion, it is upto the Govt,. to tackle things judiciously, keeping such trade illegal, and making it mandatory for organs to be donated only within the family. This will perhaps undo the commercial tag on organs, and foster within us a community spirit, that is sadly disappearing.
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Thanks Sangeeta for reading. It is true that most of us are losing the community spirit. No wonder we have more of exploitation because the ones exploiting know that 'united we stand divided we fall' policy does not exist here.
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Very thought provoking blog!
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Thanks Chandrima. The problem is we don't tend to think of it till we are personally affected.
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Dear Shail,
Very sensitive topic. I think every one in this chain has their own justification as the buyer gets his life extended and the seller tries to satisfy his monetary needs. No one in urgent need of an organ would be looking at the moral aspect of such a trade and those who sell it for money may have hell lot of problems in the garage to solve.
But I think voluntary doantaions should be encouraged and networks should be developed to track any monetary transactions as far as possible.
Still it would remain a debatable topic, I think, since the question of life is involved.
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Yes Chitra. Definitely, we need to encourage voluntary donations. But how, when there is always the monetary problem, the growing need for organs? Debatable definitely.
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I too think it should be the individual's prerogative and the laws enacted should be to ensure that no one is being exploited in this name.
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True Suneetha. The personal choice must always be there but there should be no exploitation in its name.
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Shail, I feel even after the ban is lifted there will still be bidding for the organs and the benefit may go to the private hospitals,doctors and of course the middlemen who will still be in and around.
Voluntary organ donations should no doubt be encouraged.
A thought provoking and debatable topic indeed!
Gouri
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Thanks for reading Gouri. Yes, even after lifting of the ban there is bound to be exploitation but we hope less. Voluntary donation must be encouraged. There must be a campaign.
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A thought-provoking topic indeed! In my opinion,sometimes people tend to sell their body-organs in order to meet their emergency. But at the same time there are some who do it just to fulfill their addiction. So in case of allowing sale of organs may result to certain havocs. Why not some awareness programs encouraging people to donate their useful reusable organs after death be held? Banks with proper measures of preserving the same may be set up, so that needy patients may avail the same in future.
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Nice of you to read Manjula. I agree completely with you. Awareness is what we need more than anything else. Organ banks should be the future for the people in need of organs.
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