Spare Parts for the Human Body

8/4/2019 Spare Parts for the Human Body

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Spare Parts for the

Human BodyIs Life Priceless?


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Agendak Organ Transplantsk UNOS

k Supply and Demand in the Organ Market

k Current Laws Dealing with Organ Transplants

k Problems with our Current Plan

k Suggestions for Altering the Current Process

k Pennsylvanias Plan

k

Moral Considerationsk Economic Considerations

k Will Supply Meet Demand?

k Who Will Pay?


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Organ Transplants

kPeople need

donated organs to

replace their own

failing ones

k20,000 life saving

transplants areperformed each

year


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UNOS

United Network forOrganSharing

Uses education, technology andpolicy development to advanceorgan availability andtransplantation

Manage the national transplant

waiting listMatch donors to recipients 24

hours a day


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Supply and Demand in the Organ

MarketkHuman organs are the nations scarcest

medical resource

kThere is a huge difference between the

supply ofuseable organs and the demand

for organ to be transplanted


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Supply and Demand ofO

rgans

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

Demand

Supply


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Current Laws about

Organs

National Organ Transplant Act

Organ Procurement and Transplantation Act

Current system for sharing organs

The US is divided into 63 areas comprising 11 regions


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Problems with our Current

PlanNot enough organs to satisfy the

demand

States work hard to get people to

donate but they want the organs to

remain in their state

Regions are disorganized

People die waiting for transplants

Organs die or become useless


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Suggestions for

Altering the Current Process

Pennsylvanias Plan

New regions better

efficiency

Airports


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Pennsylvanias Plan $300.00 Stipend

Test run in sending money

directly to funeral homes

Problems with this plan

Possibly violates the National

Organ Transplant Act

Definitely violates some peoples

moral and ethical values


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Moral

Considerations

Is life priceless?

What will opening this market bring in the

future? Poor families in need of money might be pressured

to make life-altering decisions

If this program goes too far living people might beable to sell their own organs (kidneys, etc.)


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Economic

Considerations

This plan creates an open

market for death

In a free market, the price isalways negotiable

Will states try to top each other

with higher prices?

Could a for-profit transplant

center be established?


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SupplyM

eets Demand? How much would it cost for the supply to

meet the demand?

Difference between supply & demand - 54,300

54,300 * 500.00 = 27,150,000.00

If every donating family were paid $500.00,would cost $27,150,000.00


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WhoW

ill Pay?

The government?

The person receiving the organ? The wealthy will have an unfair

advantage over the poor

Private Insurance Companies?

This possibility would make health

insurance very expensive for all


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Conclusion

Organ Transplant program is a national

priority

Much more work is needed to make the currentlylow supply of organs meet the quickly rising

demand

Paying people for organs would help, but it is a

moral and economic controversy

Nobel Prize Winning Economist Gary Beckers

Plan


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Works

Cited

Clinton, senators agree on organ-transplant system.

The Providence Journal 13 April 2000, sec. A:5

Freyer, Felice J. Fear that fewer will donate organs follow revelation of

tissu

e sales. The Providence Jou

rnal 18 April 2000, sec. B:1 1. Loren Zimmermann

2. A question from a website visitor

3. Online

4. Available E-mail: [email protected]

5. 3/27/2000

The Gift of Life Trust Fund. 25 May 2000: n.pag. On-line.Internet. 1 June 2000. Available www.giftoflife-sc.org/

United Network forOrgan Sharing. 4 Jun. 2000: n-pag. On-line.Internet. 5 Jun. 2000. Available www.UNOS.org

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