Entry 3 - Term 3

Organ Trading - To ban or not to ban?

http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_257418.html


Ask about legalizing organ trading a few years ago, and people will have no idea of what you are talking about. Ask about it a couple of months ago, comments will come as quick as the bullets of a machine again. Ask about it a few years later, what will you get? Will it be, like now, banned? Or will the ban be lifted in the years to come?

It all started when a man, Mr Sulaiman Damanik, wanted to sell one of his kidneys to the chairman of CK Tang, Tang Wee Sung. He was eventually fined $1000 and jailed for two weeks. Some might think, "But he is selling HIS OWN organ? What's wrong with that? Why should the government even care about what we do with our own body?" That is one side of the argument, while the other side is the moral values behind doing so. As always, there are both good and bad points about legalizing organ trading, or banning them.

There are some serious implications of legalizing organ trading. First, much more people would be saved from not being able to find a suitable donor. The chances of a suitable match are 1 in 2000 for non-relatives, and we also have to consider the people who are willing to donate. Secondly, people would not try to buy organs from the black market, which also means that banning organ trading would promote a black market for organ trading. Thirdly, legalizing organ trading would mean that only the rich will be able to get the organs. What about the poor then? Will they ever be able to get an organ? Will anyone ever want to sell to them if the rich pays more than what they are paying? And last of all, legalizing it will cause unhappiness amongst people who are against organ trading due to ethical reasons, and might cause rioting. After all, this is the very reason why organ trading is banned, hence there will surely be a large number of people who will not be happy if it is legalized.

On the other hand, keeping it banned will also have its own implications. Firstly, as mentioned above, banning organ trading will only promote a black market for people who are desperate to get an organ, and willing to pay any amount for it. Secondly, leading on to black markets, people buying or even selling on the black market might not get the right price for the organ. An example, quoted from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-stier/organtrading-is-not-so-w_b_59633.html, "National Geographic reports that a poor neighborhood in India is known as "Kidney Village," since residents illegally sell their kidneys for about $800, far less than the $100,000 that some recipients have been willing to pay." Thirdly, many people on the waiting list do not have that long to wait for donations to come to them. Banning organ trading would put them in a dilemma; buy an organ would mean breaking the law, while waiting would just mean certain death. And they do not have long to make a choice, for in a few years they would die from organ failure.

Personally, I am one who believes in person who believes in personal choice, and that would mean i am pro legalizing organ trading. After all, our organ belongs to us, and why should the government get involved in it, or to be put bluntly, be a busybody. I also do not see any ethical issues myself; hence I do not see any reason for it to be banned. However, I understand the concerns of this and do not disagree with all of it. For example, we need to think about the whole society when legalizing organ trading. Of course, the perfect scenario would be a healthy, poor commoner donating an organ to a sick but rich businessman. However, it is not always a bed of roses. What happens if we have a sick and poor person in need of an organ? With all the rich buying up all the organs for sale, what is left for this person who cannot do anything about his situation? After all, he will never be able to get a donation as no one will ever donate when they can sell it.

What I feel that the government should do is to legalize it, but also mention that it is morally wrong. Although this is contradictory, it is a win-win situation. People who wants to sell or buy organs will be happy with the change, while the people who think it is morally wrong to trade organs know at least that the government thinks that it is wrong as well, but is "forced" to legalize it due to the benefits that outweights the negative impacts. This way, the moral standards are still there, yet it is a pragmatic policy.