Every year, thousands of people in America die due to the lack of available organs. In the article, "Organ Sales Will Save Lives" by Joanne MacKay she attempts to raise awareness that there are thousands of people in the world that are in need of life-saving organs, specifically kidneys. The author goes on to describe the grueling dialysis treatments for patients suffering from End Stage Renal Disease and the lengthy wait and hope for a cadaver kidney donation. Unhappy with these options; patients opt for a third choice, which leads them overseas into the pit of the black market. The reason is the United States government bans the selling of organs. In 1984, the National Organ Transplant Act made it a federal crime to, “knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human organ for valuable consideration for use in human transplantation if the transfer affects interstate commerce” (2007). MacKay's argument is that the …show more content…
In MacKay’s article, she states that whether the government legalizes the sale of kidneys or not doesn’t matter; because the sellers of third world countries are already being exploited by the little fee they receive, the lack of education and the lack of follow-up care (MacKay 99). Legalizing the selling of kidneys would lead to less exploitation of these third world sellers. Also, to exploit someone you would have to take advantage of them. Matas states exploitation is, “utilization of another selfishly” (2010). Also, just because a person is poor does not mean they cannot make the choice to sell their kidney as long as it is their free will and their choice to so (Matas 2011). Ultimately, donors would still most likely be people who have economic challenges and who are in search of quick fixes to financial problems, but as long as they can understand the process of selling their kidneys then they should be given that