Essay on Selling Organs for Transplant

            NOTA or National Organ Transplant Act is actually the cornerstone of the Fed system for organ transplantation. It became active in 1984 and prohibited the selling of organs. NOTA in response to the proposal of Jacob, included in a language that made the proposal a crime “for any individual to receive, acquire, or transfer knowingly any human organ for an important consideration for a use in transplantation if interstate commerce is affected by the transfer." At that time, Congress was actually concerned about the emergence of an organ market along with the disputes that could rise if donors were forced into donating their organs. The Report of Senate accompanying the NOTA explained that parts of human body shouldn’t be viewed and perceived as commodities (Unos).

For the last twenty years, the prohibition against selling and buying organs in the US has actually quoted NOTA as a mantra. Efforts in providing incentives in terms of finance as a means of raising cadaveric donation have not succeeded because of a precise congressional intent that organs must not be placed in the market. However, a commentator has seemingly argued that the existence of a law that prohibits selling of organs portrays a body of a human as a commerce’s article that lies in congressional power. Otherwise, this matter wouldn’t be so important and organs would be sold on the market.

Although society hasn’t eliminated the sale of replenishable body parts including blood, sperm, and hair, the question about whether society should consider selling human organs is yet to be answered. It is not because of the rising desire of individuals to sell organs but because of the expansion of biotechnology industry. At present, a growing number of patients are waiting for a transplant and alternatives for increasing the supply of donor are in a consistent demand. Evolution in the biotechnology has created needs and uses for bodily tissues that were unimaginable in last few years. And even though state and federal law prohibits selling of organs, there is not any law regarding their use for commercial, educational, and research purposes.

References of Selling Organs for Transplant

Unos. National Organ Transplant Act enacted 30 years ago. 2014. <https://unos.org/news/national-organ-transplant-act-enacted-30-years-ago/>.