Should Organs be for Sale?

Currently, a controversial issue of both medical and ethical traits is circulating throughout many countries of the world, concerning whether citizens should have the right to sell their organs or just give them up for donation. 

So why is the question, "Should Organs be for Sale?" a huge issue?

There is a significant portion of people that do actually donate their organs; however, the number of donors does not match the rising number of patients in need of transplants.

Personally, I would not allow the selling of organs, because it is a manner of self-exploitation. Of course, if organs had been for purchase, the number of people in need of organ transplants would decrease, but the morality of the people and economy would fall apart. Impoverished people, in desperate need of money, would be faced with the desperate option of making money and losing an organ. With that, they are caught in a personal battle of deceit and exploitation. Another question to take into consideration when think about this issue is, “How will the government be able to pay the organ sellers?” If people are granted the right to sell their organs, the number of organs sellers is going to rise, and when it rises, the health department of the government will be forced to pay an extensive amount of money to the organ sellers, whether it’d be money or discounted healthcare. Either way, the government has to be able to pay the organ sellers, and the only way possible is by taking a small portion of money out of the nation’s back pocket. This indicates a rise in taxes. The nation’s citizens will have to pay more taxes in order to pay for the people selling their organs.

The online article, “Sell Organs to Save Lives,” by BBC news, confronts the issue of the UK government allowing the right to make organs for sale and purchase. Martin Wilkinson, the writer of this article, displays his personal viewpoint of the issue. He believes that people should have the right to sell their organs. Our opinions clash because we each support different sides of the issue; I choose to support the side of personal morality and he chooses the science of economics. He confronts the subject of supply and demand is this issue. Wilkinson believes that when the ability to make money from selling organs is allowed, then people will start to give away more of their organs (supply), meeting the needs of the large number of patients waiting for an organ transplant (demand).

To view the article, "Sell Organs to Save Lives," click on the link below:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10786211

TILOHL: Synopsis Review

Henrietta Lacks is quite the opposite from any ordinary human. Her famous, “immortal” cells are the primary mechanisms that have shaped and modernized what medical science is composed of today. Her presence in history deserves a spotlight in the eyes of the universal public; for without Henrietta Lacks, today’s civilization would never have seen in-vitro fertilization, a vaccination for polio, or even treatment for leukemia. According to The Washington Post’s book review of the novel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, written by Rebecca Skloot, there was an estimated “50 million metric tons of HeLa cells replicated over the past 60 years of medical research”. Rebecca Skloot’s novel provides the the reader with both scientific and personal knowledge and sparks questions of the recurring controversies of human equality and privacy rights.

The largest obstacle in constructing a novel that appeals to a broad audience, is finding a common topic that will lure in the readers’ attention. Examples of the varieties of story topics that currently appeal to different readers are: drama, science fiction, love, sorrow, adventure, and etc.  Rebecca Skloot’s obstacle was finding multiple topics to merge together, that would create a story that would interest a large audience. Therefore, the novel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, is not a novel merely created for the intellectual minds of the medical field.  Rebecca Skloot clearly portrays the history and influence of HeLa cells without writing in immense scientific format. Skloot pays close attention to the detail of Lack’s complete life story, entailing the various conflicts of her dynamic love life, her coping with a devastating illness, and her spiritual and scientific impact on others after passing away.   

As an intrigued reader of  The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, I don’t anticipate many challenges while reading this book. Though I have only read half-way through Part One: “The Exam”, I have not yet encountered any challenges that have affected my understanding of the story. Thus far, I give this novel a standing ovation.

For additional information about the novel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, click on the link below.

The Washington Post: Book Review of 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks'