Summary of 'The Meat Market'

 

 Summary of 'The Meat Market'

 

To solve the problem of the shortage of human organs, Singapore is paying 50,000 Singapore dollars for their organs. Iran is paying its citizens to donate. And Israel is making a system, in which if someone wants to get organs from others, first he or she has to be ready to give his organs later.

Millions o people are suffering from kidney disease. They have to ait for transplant. Only a few of them get a chance for transplant, and some of them die while waiting for it. To fight against the shortage of organs, American doctors remove tissues, especially corneas, from the dead patients without informing the patient’s families. And this practice is not illegal, so cornea transplant has increased.

To solve the problem of this shortage, some countries have used very new methods, which have been costly and controversial. Organ can be taken only hen the donor is dead, but the line of life and death cannot be drawn without debate. It is a great paradox because while removing the organ the donor should be dead but the organ should not be dead. After the number of brain-dead donors decreased, more attention was paid to cardiac dead donors. Both standards were debatable. The surgeon who transplanted the brain-dead donor’s heart in 1968 as threatened with prosecution. But such transplants did not decrease.

Because of the shortage of organs, people have accepted unsuitable organs, that is, organs from persons over sixty and from people having medical problems. Such organs are less successful than those taken from young and healthier donors. But people have accepted such risks because of the long waiting list and the falling quality of transplants.

Routine removal has been used for corneas but it cannot be used for vital organs, such as kidneys, livers, or lungs. Presumed consent makes everyone an organ donor if he or she has not signed a non-organ-donor card. This system becomes effective if all the necessary things are easily available. U.k., Wales and India favor presumed consent. But U.S. supports it less.

Now 5 to 10 percent of the human organs are sold in the black market worldwide. And they should be sold voluntarily if donors are supposed to get proper care after donation.

Iran has made a legal system to remove the shortage of organs. If patients cannot get kidneys from deceased or living donors, they will have to apply to the Dialysis and Transplant Patients Association (Datpa). Datpa identifies the possible donors, and the donors are medically examined by transplant physicians. The government pays donors $1,200and provides health care facility for one year. I addition, kidney recipients also pay donors between $2,300 and $4,500. Id recipients are poor, charitable organizations provide money to donors. Like in Iran, the problem of shortage of the kidney can be solved in the U.S. by paying living donors. For the U.S. government also, one time transplant will be cheaper than the frequent dialysis.

Singapore has also legalized the payment of 50,000 Singapore dollars to the organ donors as an incentive. The U.S. has remained behind in this case until now. But last year, Senator Arlen Specter circulated a draft bill that would allow U.S. government to offer noncash compensation to donors.

Incentives help to collect more kidneys from living donors than from dead donors. On one hand, it is great success because body can work perfectly well with one kidney if they are properly cared. On the other hand, it is an ugly failure because dead donor’s kidneys are buried or burned if they are not used. Singapore has introduced a nonmonetary system for organ donation. Those who do not allow to donate their organs after their death will get least priority, if they themselves need organs one day. It is called “no give, no take” system.

Many people find that paying money for organs is hateful, but they accept the ethical basis of “no give, no take” system. This system has encouraged more people to sign on their organ donor cards, and decreased the shortage of organs. Israel has used a different version of no give, no take. If a person has signed his donor card, his position will go up in the list of transplants. For example, if his first-degree relative has signed, he will get one point, and if his first-degree relative has previously donated an organ, he will be given 3.5 points. The shortage of organs is getting worse in the world. As more people are dying, the pressure to find out a new ay to save life is increasing.