INFORMEDdebate
YES
from members:
Linda Burris
La Jolla, CA
4 pix in With compensation,
EdArt imagine the huge increase in availability of
organs. This could save
so many lives. If a loved
one was dying, would you care if
you had to pay?
Charles Thurston
Aurora, CO
If someone wants
to sell their organs,
it should be an open
market, which our
capitalistic system
rewards.
CHRIS A RUSNAK
Should people get paid
Morris Brown
Indianapolis, IN
Pic in Since there is a shortage
EdArt of lifesaving organs, this might expedite saving
some lives.
to donate their organs?
Buying and selling a human organ is against the law in
the United States and many other countries, but as patients
go without necessary transplants and black-market organ sales
continue to grow, some medical professionals have begun to
favor a legal organ market. Proponents say that paying people
to donate organs does not go against current ethical practice in
health care and that a legalized and regulated system would
help address the large demand for transplants without exploit-
ing the poor. Opponents argue that the practice is unethical
because paying for their organs would encourage people to
ignore whatever qualms they have about donating them. More-
over, the sale of organs would give an advantage to those with
the means to pay for them, so the rich would jump to the
front of the waiting list. What do you think?
NO
from members:
Abranette Lopez
Chicago, IL
Pic in You should not be
EdArt paid for a choice you
should make freely.
Jerry Worth
Wilmer, TX
It is difficult to put a
price on the value of
an organ. It should be
a final gift to mankind.
Find out more about this topic on the Web:
• www.kidney.org/news/newsroom/newsitem.cfm?id=323
• www.transplantation-soc.org/policy.php
• www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/03.21/09-organ.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_donation#Legislation_regarding_organ_donation
Abbas Bagheri
Jacksonville, FL
Pic in Some people needing
EdArt money would sell organs
to wealthy people. This
can put their own health
at risk.
