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Incentivizing the Donation of Organs – Proposal Essay

Whether someone is aware of a problem or not, when a problem proceeds to exist

someone must step in and provide a solution. When it comes to issues that are present throughout

the globe, one that is being talked about more and more in recent times is the global organ black

market. Within this organs are being illegally sold and in the process people are being exploited

and taken advantage of. In this, whether it is the buyer or the seller, both parties seem to be

worse for the wear than they were originally. The exploitation and suffering that comes along

with the buying and selling of organs needs to come to an end and there needs to be a viable

solution to this problem. In the process of explaining the dilemma that is illegally selling organs;

this paper will also provide a solution that involves legalizing the selling of organs through

establishing more available organs and providing evidence as to why the selling of organs is not

an immoral practice.

When it comes to the global epidemics that are going on throughout the world the most

commonly referred to ones would be diseases, poverty, or war. However, an ever growing

occurrence would be the buying and selling of organs illegally on the black market. This process

has an everlasting effect on both parties that digs deeper than what shows on the skin. For

example, it causes psychological damage to both parties that are involved. In his paper author

Giubilini states that, ““’Vendors will usually experience a range of significant harms that

ultimately leave them worse off than before the sale’ in terms of physical, psychological, social,

and financial consequences” (2014). The action of selling one’s body for financial gain generally

leaves that individual in a place of mental despair. Depending on where they stem from, in the

sense of society, the person who is selling might be either ostracized or outcast from their normal
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standing. This in turn leaves the individual in a place where they feel like what they did was

wrong, and they question whether or not they should have participated in this process at all. It

can make the person feel like less of a human and like they are incomplete or are missing part of

themselves after being stitched back up. The weight of this thought process over time eventually

leads the individual down the path of believing they have little to no human rights. “But if we

start to sell parts of ourselves, we demean ourselves and lose something of our humanity”

(McGovern, 2009). The process of selling one’s body in order to get to a financially stable point

in turn leaves the individual feeling less like a human and more like a machine with parts that

can just be taken out of them. It is a slippery slope that is a part of a cycle that seemingly has no

end. However, there is a rather more simple solution to this problem than people realize. In order

to stop the cycle that is the illegal selling of organs, society should begin to reduce the shortage

of organs globally.

When it comes to solving the organ black market that is taking over the globe, nations

tend to differ in their approach to find a solution and after studying through these different

possibilities it is clear that the best possible solution would be for governments to end the

shortage of organs in their region. Author Emily Kelly points this out in her paper claiming that,

“Domestic solutions to reduce organ shortages include procurement systems based on various

methods of consent and incentivizing donation” (2013). In her argument it is clear that there are

two viable ways for governments to increase the amount of organs they have available to those in

need. The first way would be to get the consent of the individual after they pass or if they are in a

state that does not allow them to respond on their own. This would increase the amount of

donations that occur via surgeries after accidents or serious medical issues. In this process

society would find a vast increase in specific body parts for those who need them. However this
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is not necessarily the most efficient way because it relies on the tragedy of others, and at times

these may be too severe to provide any real aid. The second way that they could increase would

be through incentives created to motivate society to help make a difference. While the author

does not go as into detail on the incentives as other things, it is clear that this would effectively

change the amount of organs made ready by society. With the combination of the two new ways

to promote donations of organs, societies could turn the corner on providing aid for those who

need it. Although one idea might sound a little better than the other on paper, the proposal is that

both are needed in order to create a real change in our culture today. In the process of legalizing

and normalizing the selling and donating of organs, the moral compass within our brains will

shift as well.

If one were to talk to a person from a specific religion or from a different culture from a

specific place on this earth, they might be swayed to believe that it is immoral for a human being

to donate or get rid of a part of their body. There are religions that deem it wrong or impure to

damage one’s body even if it is to help others in need. What is unique about donating specific

parts of one’s body to those in need is that it is actually creating life and not destroying it. When

a person is struggling for medical aid in their life and it seems like there is no hope left, donating

a piece of the liver or even a kidney is in fact saving their life, not destroying yours. It is

allowing the other person to live one more day, to take one more breath, to smile one more time.

It is not destroying the body of a person by any means, even the Catholic Church leans towards

this standpoint. “As regards medicine, it would not be right to reject a gift of God (that is,

medical science), just because of the bad use that some people make of it; we should instead

throw light on what they have corrupted” (Capaldi, 2000). What the author is getting at here in

reference to a quote from the Pope is that it is in fact a gift from God that a person is granted a
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second chance at life. They are not participating in some immoral practice to gain something of

this world instead they are blessed at times, to receive the gift from God. When done for the right

reasons, the donation and even the selling of one’s organs is in fact not morally repugnant at all

but rather essential for modern society. The necessity for this process is that of providing for

those who are not able take care of themselves as well as those who are beaten down by life. This

change in society in turn becomes both a delightful and pleasant culture.

To wrap up this proposal in a clear and concise manner, it is important to first remember

why it is being written. All throughout the globe an epidemic of people dying due to failed

organs is rising. People in both third world and first world countries, are suffering at the hands of

fate because their bodies are failing them. It is out of their control and at times seems completely

insurmountable. However, there is a change in the wind coming about. Slowly over the course of

time more and more people of the world are realizing their ability to provide help and change for

those who are in need. The exploitation and evilness behind the black market can be put down

instantly if governments would stand in and provide a way for citizens to donate what they do

not need. It can be through the donating of organs after serious accidents or even fatal ones. Or it

could even be through incentives to motivate people to donate their bodies. Whatever exact

solution may come about, there needs to be a way for the people of this world to make a

difference and claiming an inability to because of moral repugnance no longer applies.

References

Capaldi, N. (2000). A Catholic Perspective on Organ Sales. Christian Bioethics: Non-

Ecumenical Studies In Medical Morality, 6(2), 139-151.

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Eduardo, R. (2006). Organ Sales and Moral Distress. Journal Of Applied Philosophy, (1), 41.

Giubilini, A. (2014). Harms to Vendors: We Should Discourage, Not Prohibit Organ Sales.

American Journal Of Bioethics, 14(10), 25-27. doi:10.1080/15265161.2014.947797

Kelly, E. (2013). International organ trafficking crisis: solutions addressing the heart of the

matter. Boston College Law Review, (3), 1317.

McGovern, K. (2009). Human egg trade exploits women. Eureka Street, 19(14), 3-4.

Taylor, J. S. (2015). Moral repugnance, moral distress, and organ sales. The Journal Of Medicine

And Philosophy, (3), 312. doi:10.1093/jmp/jhv006

Wilkinson, S. (2003). Bodies for sale: ethics and exploitation in the human body trade. London;

New York: Routledge, 2003.