Introduction
The increase in medical conditions has led to increased demand for organ transplants. Transplantation of organs has been practiced worldwide. The demand for human organs has been on the rise leading to its shortage in supply to the extent of patients traveling overseas where the organs are available, especially in India. In countries like India, organs are readily available for sale commercially. However, the cost of some human organs is way beyond the financial capabilities of many individuals. Such situations have triggered the emergence of black markets that deal with human organs. This paper will look into detail the causes that trigger the rise of organ black markets, the laws that govern organ transplantations concerning India, the ethical practices that require organ transplantation as well as the ethical issues surrounding organ transplantations.
Organ transplantation occurs after a failure of the same organ in a human body and has been practiced globally for decades. According to WHO records, this exercise is being carried out in over 91 countries. The determinants for the transplantations are; technology capabilities in such countries, costs of medical care as well as the laws governing this exercise. In addition to these factors, the primary determinant of transplantation of organs is their availability. As far as organs availability is concerned, their demand has exceeded the supply in the market which has resulted in the formation of international organ trade. This trade creates a global network in which the patients travel to where the organs are commercially sold for transplantation. However, this trade has resulted in issues such as illegal organ trade in the black market for cash and this has led to the ban of organ trade in some countries including the US.
International organ trade forms
Transplant tourism
The recipients travel abroad to have organ transplants. This is the most common mode of trade. Some facilitators regulate the way these markets operate. Donors are required to attend to the place of operation. Under the General Agreement on Trade in Service (GATS), countries make decisions on how to trade to achieve health objectives. Despite the success in this trade, government cartels come in and exploit the organ markets and especially when dealing with live organ donors.
Other forms of organ trade
Another way of organs trade involves the donors moving into the regions where the organs are required. This has created a loophole for illegal organs trade. It is becoming increasingly difficult to account for the actual values of patients who receive organ transplantations globally. It is reported that there has been an increase in the number of individuals who sell their live body organs, including kidneys for quick cash. This is one of the reasons the US banned the trade of organs as people were coerced or manipulated into donating their organs for fast cash by cartels. Greed for fast money received from the sale of organs has gone beyond human imaginations. Several cases of executions have been reported globally, and the victims are found to have missing body parts when retrieved.
The practice of some countries importing and other exporting organs is also an area that has been on the spotlight for long. This is an area where cartels thrive well. Other cases that have been reported are human trafficking to foreign nations to be used as donors for the organs the beneficiaries being the cartel networks behind these illegal trafficking. In most cases, after the extraction of the critical organs from the victims, they have executed their bodies never to be seen again. Illegal organ trades also increase the chances of complications after a successful transplant. The international community is working tirelessly in hand with state governments in ensuring that illegal organ trade is controlled. Despite the efforts, there is still much work lies ahead as far as health policies are concerned.
Legal aspects of donating and transplantation of organs
Transplantation of Human Organ Act (THO) is responsible for all organ transplantations in India. This act was meant to restrict the trade of organs in India. Amongst the natural death, brain death was also recognized by the act as a form of death. This gave room for the transplants of other body organs such as the liver. The act might have been able to regulate illegal organs trade in India. However, organ transplant scandals are widespread in India. The provisions in this act are more natural to bend, and this has created loopholes for the cartels to capitalize. The existence of two organ donation programs that is, for the living and the deceased has made it easier for the cartels to interfere with. Live transplants are recorded as donations from the dead and especially as far as kidneys transplantations are concerned.
There are statutory laws that are set to dictate how organs trade is supposed to be done. Every country has its laws on organ transplants. Some nations, including the US, are against the sale of organs in their jurisdiction areas. Such measures protect donors from exploitation by cartels in the black market. The emergence of International organ trade meant to facilitate the global sale of organs has led to the crafting of laws meant to protect the donors from exploitation. These laws cover several areas that help in ensuring the donation of the organs is purely voluntary. On the other hand, for free organ transplants, the governments outline the laws surrounding such transplantation. These laws cover the patient and the family members who are willing to donate their organs. However, despite the structuring of such laws, the existence of International organ trade is fueling the bending of such laws and the engagement in black markets to sell organs.
Ethical requirements for organ transplants
The increase in the number of deaths by people suffering from organ failures has led to people thinking otherwise. This market has been subjected to objections from statutory bodies and sociocultural activities. The existence of illegal activities in meddling with the trade of organs has also been criticized over the years. The only clean way for organ transplants seems only by following the set legal procedures. Despite the achievements of transplantations to people, it is still unclear in accounting for the total number of deaths of people who require organ transplantation. The shortage of such organs in the market has led to a health crisis.
Spiritual aspects are also a contributing factor to the issues facing organ transplants. While some religions are against organ transplants, others feel okay with the practice. In case of a deceased, some religions require the body to be cremated in less than 24 hours while in other religions, a body can lay in the morgue for almost a week. Some religions don’t permit their deceased to be taken to the morgues. It is widely known that body organs are extracted in the morgues for sale in the black markets especially with the fresh bodies. Therefore, religions have a hand indirectly in the rise of black markets in primarily how they perform burial rituals.
Ethical issues with organs transplantation
Patients suffering from organ failures have been offered new hope to the advancement in technologies that support organ transplantations. However, the concept of organs transplantations has brought about ethical issues in our societies. Apart from ethics, cultural diversities, as well as religious beliefs, also limit the extent of organs trade and their transplantations. The achievements in the medical industry have gone to greater heights, and people are quick to acknowledge such developments. However, less is known about the dark world by medical practitioners that raise the concept of ethics.
One of these ethical issues raised is the beneficiaries of the process. The degree of the organ transplants varies from individual to the other. Some patients may be suffering from organ failure at an extreme level as compared to others. When performing transplantation, the doctors are faced with a dilemma on whom to perform the transplantations. The scarcity of the organs is the source of this ethical issue. It is also unfortunate that the patient with the capability to pay for the transplantation is given a priority. This happens mostly due to the existence of the illegal organ trade. The doctors collaborate with the facilitators and organizers in coercing and manipulating the donors to donate their organs which mostly is done freely. Once these organs are in their hands, they find means to transplant them as soon as they can. This gives priority to those with cash leaving out other patients who may be in dire need of the organs. This act of obtaining organs for free after coercion and manipulations and selling them to patients at inflated fees is unethical. Every year, it is reported that illegal organ transplantation is increasing drastically and it is becoming difficult to monitor such practices despite the measures put in place.
Transplantation issues are experienced in nations with different cultural and religious practices. As far as social issues are concerned, there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the sale and transplantation of organs. One of these misconceptions regards the donor’s health. There have been misconceptions that once a person donates their organs, their bodies will start malfunctioning. This is a misconception that people should be made aware of. However, due to the existence of black markets, unprofessional doctors may perform organ extraction surgeries on the donors’ body leaving them with complications in their entire lives. Another misconception regards the fear of being extracted from other organs during the surgery. Before the surgical procedure is carried out, the donors are given informed consent. This protects them from such malicious acts. It is sad to note that this act has been reported in some instances. This proves the existence of cartels in the illegal organs trade.
Conclusions
Organs transplantation has helped and is still helping many patients by saving their lives. When practiced ethically, organ transplantation has many benefits to our lives. However, the existence of organs black markets has tarnished the excellent work this exercise has achieved. Despite the measures put in place to curb this trade, the demand for organs has exceeded leading to the cartels coming up with ways to bed these measures. Even if the donors were educated on their rights before donating their organs, the cartels turn into human trafficking who are then used for organs extractions and their bodies disposed of. Therefore, it is high time the government employed more strict laws that would see heavy penalties imposed on such cartels once caught. Lenient laws or the reluctant by the governments to act swiftly on such cases is a contributor to such acts. It is the high time societies stood up to fight this malice no matter how beneficial it might be to some individuals.