Should Organ and Tissue Selling be Legalized???

[VetTechJess]

whatever your answer is on this highly controversial topic, State your reasons why below...

I think it should be...

The reason why is this altruism crap is all nice and good in theory but in reality it doesnt help to pay the bills. And get this: some ppl have actually been BILLED for the cost of the removal of their loved ones organs for transplant. Such Audacity!!!

I think it would boost the economy also, because with it being a "sale" and not a "donation", then it can be counted as income which then in turn would be reported to the IRS. That means more money for the US government to spend.

It would also be for serious donors only. There would be many criteria to be met before they would be accepted. and if youre not accepted then you can sign up with the altruistic organ and tissue donation places. Win Win situation anyways.

There are always problems with the altruistic version of organ and tissue donation. Mainly due to the fact that because donors arent getting any type of compensation whatsoever they simply dont care. I mean how many times have you heard of someone in a donor registry backing out last minute for any old reason? Its heartbreaking to the patient because it gave them false hope. In organ and tissue sales, it would be a legally binding contract that one would have to go thru with once the money was interchanged.

Also there would be an extensive list of eligibility criteria to be met. some of the ideas Ive come up with are as follows:

US CITIZENS ONLY: this being the sole reason that if organ and tissue selling were legalized (for handsome prices I might add) that the sole purpose of this would be to prevent citizens from other countries where organ and tissue selling is illegal from coming to the US and taking payment that would be reserved for a US Citizen. (natural born and naturalized citizens only.)

MUST LIVE IN THE US FOR 18 CONSECUTIVE YEARS AT ONE POINT IN TIME: If youre a natural born citizen this does not apply to you. If youre going thru the naturalization process than this rule does apply to you. Again this is a preventative measure for those who are just doing this for the money involved.

MUST BE BETWEEN AGES 18-60: I dont know why this is a rule for the national bone marrow donor registry, but it seems like a good one to me.

MUST NOT USE EXCESSIVE ALOCOHOL OR ANY ILLEGAL DRUGS: there should be no need for explanations here....

MUST NOT USE TOBACCO PRODUCTS OR SMOKE: the reason? cigarrette smoke would be not only making your lungs unuseable, but it also gets in your blood. I mean lets face it, why would we want to give a cancer patient an organ or tissue of a smoker that we know would be inadvertantly laced with nicotine??? Hell it may even be a motivator for ppl to kick the habit.

MUST HAVE A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA OR GED: with the high payments for organ and tissue selling, this may be a motivator for many more graduates from high school.

MUST GET A MINIMUM OF AN ASSOCIATES DEGREE FROM AN ACCREDITED COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY IN THE FIRST FIVE YEARS AFTER ACCEPTANCE: im using marrow donation as a example here. at $10,000 per cup of marrow, I think it would make higher education more affordable for everyone, don't you?

MUST GET A HEALTH INSURANCE POLICY WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF ACCEPTANCE INTO THE SELLERS REGISTRY AND MUST KEEP IT ACTIVE THE ENTIRE TIME WHILE IN THE REGISTRY: Again I am using marrow donation here, (organ donation sales would be higher depending on type of organ and blood type etc.) At $10,000 PER CUP of marrow, I think it would make health insurance more affordable. I dont want to hear that you wouldnt be able to afford it after making that kind of money per cup...

the list could go on and on and im sure i missed some. I also want all of you to add some or feel free to debate...so long as it doesnt turn into a flaming war.

Im sure I will prolly contradict myself in this thread when I reply to it at one point or another so I am letting you know in advance....

[Brutha]

In organ and tissue sales, it would be a legally binding contract that one would have to go thru with once the money was interchanged.

That is exactly the reason why it shouldn't.

[Chet]

Well it is a fact that health is for sale already -- older people often can not afford the drugs they need etc.
But I don't think we should encourage the idea with selling organs and tissue. Do you want a loved one to not get a needed kidney because they can't compete with the going price? Does Paris Hilton get a liver transplant while your brother dies?

[VetTechJess]

Originally Posted by Chet

Well it is a fact that health is for sale already -- older people often can not afford the drugs they need etc.
But I don't think we should encourage the idea with selling organs and tissue. Do you want a loved one to not get a needed kidney because they can't compete with the going price? Does Paris Hilton get a liver transplant while your brother dies?

well whose to say that I wouldnt sell some of my bone marrow as well as other relatives in my family would sell their bone marrow to cover the cost?

[openeyes]

In Iran there is no waiting list for kidneys. With an average monthly salary of $200, donors are paid $1000. Only Iranian citizens can be part of the program. A similar program could work well in the US, with people being paid about 20 grand for a kidney, 10 grand for liver (it grows back) or perhaps a thousand dollars for bone marrow. This would at least help people afford to take time off from work to recuperate.

What I find interesting is that right now in the US it's actually difficult to be an anonymous kidney donor. You're expected to know the person first, otherwise it seems very odd to be that altruistic. With kidney donation there can be downtime of several weeks, which many people couldn't afford even if they wanted to, hence why payment could really help.

I'm in the bone marrow registry, and unless one waits for a local drive to come by there's actually a fee to join the registry of at least $50 to cover the tests. At least I can give blood for free, and as an O- do so fairly often. It'd be nice to get $50-100 for it, and doing so would likely get many more people to give blood, making constant shortages a thing of the past.

Also, I'd have it so that everyone is tested at birth (or whenever proves optimal, with it being possible to opt out of such testing) to see who they're compatible with so that if a match is found they can be notified and given an option to donate. This would greatly expand the registry of potential donors, and people who wouldn't have thought of donating before may reconsider when a real person's life is at stake.