There have been a lot of improvements in the fields of medical science with the passage of time. In the past few years there has been a dramatic rise in the demand for organs for transplantation. The gap between supply and demand with respect to organ transplantation is not only large but growing in proportion in spite of the rapid advances being made in this area. In the United States alone, approximately six thousand (6,000) and ten thousand (10,000) individuals put on hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, respectively, pending the arrival of a possible kidney donor and thus the transplant to take place (Arthur L Caplan, 143).
In addition, four thousand more are expected to receive corneal transplants (Arthur L Caplan, 143) if ever donors come. As of 2004, there were 80,000 patients on organ waiting lists in the United States (Watkins, 2005), and based on a 1999 data, it is estimated that 4, 000 of these patients will not receive an organ before dying (Ballard, 2000 in www. bioethics. net/articles. php? viewCat=7&articleId=134). B. Definition of terms What then is the real issue about organ harvesting in the light of all these occurrences?
This is about the sale of body parts to patients in need of these organs in various parts of the world. Organ harvesting came into trend, originally, to meet the need of those needing transplants. Healthy body organs were taken or harvested from patients who had just died, or were facing imminent death, and organs were then reserved or made available for patients whose prospect/hope for life were still bright if not only for their failing organs.
The practice of organ harvesting has come into vogue in medicine because of the success it has gained that began in 1967, when the first human heart transplantation was performed by a surgeon (Watkins, http://www. kentlaw. edu/jicl/articles/spring2005/s2005_christy_watkins. pdf in Kaserman & Barnett, supra note 6, at 1-2). It is now an acceptable practice in hospitals around the world, though along with the bright side of its practice comes the dark side – the abuses and misconduct among medical professionals. C. Its Prevalence
China has, since 1984, started harvested organs or body parts from prisoners who were executed (Watkins, 2005 in Jensen). Because of religious or ethical reasons, Japan and Iran do not perform organ transplant as yet, but still they import organs from outside their borders (Watkins, 2005 in Jensen). The issue escalated when a Chinese doctor seeking asylum in the United States, who formerly worked in China’s execution grounds, made this declaration before US lawmakers (accessed www. buyhard. fsnet. co. uk/harvesting_and_sale_of_body_parts. htm from www. cnn. com).
Whether these allegations are substantiated or yet to be substantiated and proven correct, the concern now for many private citizens and government institutions, is to address what might possibly be a worldwide unethical and dangerous trade. Generally poor African Americans and Latino have difficulty getting human organs and less likely to donate their organ as well. Procurement for body parts are not the same all over the world. Because of the shortage of supply, people have resorted and devised some means to provide their loved ones with the much-needed organ.
Business minded people who are aware of this growing market and greedy for money have found a very lucrative avenue to open up shops for this trade: Organ Transplantation. A landmark in the history of medicine shows that in 1967, the first human heart transplantation by Dr. Barnard might have provided a breakthrough, which also now paved the way for other organ transplants to follow
(Watkins, http://www. kentlaw. edu/jicl/articles/spring2005/s2005_christy_watkins. pdf in Kaserman & Barnett, supra note 6, at 1-2).