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KrystleXue
Ms.Gardner
English10Honors,4
10May2016
LivingInside
Youseeyourlovedononahospitalbed,tubesattachedtotheirbodiesandonethingin
yourhead.Whatisthecause?Youdonthaveenoughmoneyfortheorgans,ortheoverallcost
ofanorgantransplant.Organdonationistheprocessofremovingtissuesandorgansfroma
humanbodyforthepurposesoftransplanting(ProQuestStaff).Organdonationimpactsthe
societyduetotheresultsofincreasingonespercentagetolive.
Between1987and2012,533,329patientsreceiveddonatedorgans.Another
579,506patientswereputonthenetwork'swaitinglistbutdidn'tgetanorgan.By
comparingtheoutcomesforpatientsinbothgroups,theresearcherswereableto
calculatehowmuchlongerthetransplantrecipientslivedasaresultoftheirnew
organs.Thatnumberaddedupto2,270,859yearsa"stellaraccomplishment,"
accordingtothestudyauthors.Morethanhalfofthoseextrayears1,372,969of
themhavebeenlivedbypeoplewhohadkidneytransplants,theresearchers
calculated.Another465,296extrayearsweregainedbyrecipientsofnewlivers,
and269,715yearsbypeoplewhogotnewhearts.(Kaplan).
Organdonationwillleadtothetroublesofthepoorasthepricesinthewaitinglist,organs,and
medicationarehigh.


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Somewouldarguethatoneshouldnotfocusonthefactthatthepricesarehigh,tofocus
onthefactthattheseorgansaresavingmanylives.Manystudiesshowthathearts,kidneysand
otherdonatedorganshaveaddedmorethan2millionyearstothelivesoftheAmericanpatients
whoreceivedthem(Kaplan).Uterustransplantsarealsowantedbymanywomenwhoare
unabletogetpregnantlikeanyotherwoman.Therecouldalsobethehappyfacesoffamilies
whentheyhearthattheirlovedonecouldbesavedbyanorgandonor.InDecember2015,
organtransplantsperformedintheUnitedStatesin2015exceeded30,000forthefirsttime
annually(MoreThan30,000
TransplantsPerformedAnnuallyforFirstTime
),whichis
goodnewsfortheentireUnitedStates.Beingabletosavemanypatientsisgoodnewsforboth
thefamiliesandthedoctors,andcanleadtomoresuccessfulsavingsinthenearfuture.In
summary,manywouldfocusonthefactthatorgandonationscansavemanyliveseveryyear.
Yes,manywouldsaythatorgandonationsare
highlyhelpful,howeversomedontrealize
thehighpricesonemustpaytoreceivethe
organstheyneed.
Organdonationmaysavelives,
however,duetothepricesofbeingona
waitinglist,itllonlybehelpfultotherich.
Forexample,therichhaveadvantagesevenin
asystemdesignedtosteerorganstothe
sickestpatientsandthosewhohavewaited
longest(Marchione).Aswellas,wealthier


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peoplecanbetteraffordthetestsandtraveltogetonmorethanonetransplantcenter'swaiting
list(Marchione).Wealthypeoplearemorelikelytogetonmultiplewaitinglistsandscorea
transplant,andlesslikelytodiewhilewaitingforone(Marchione).Sincericherpeoplecould
affordtobeondifferentlists,itllincreasetheirchanceofliving:"Multiplelistedpatientswere
morelikelytogettransplantedandlesslikelytodie,"saidDr.RaymondGivensatColumbia
UniversityMedicalCenterinNewYork.(Marchione).Researchprovesthatpatientswhoare
onmultiplewaitinglistshaveahigherchanceofsurviving.Thewaitinglistisnotcheapand
patientsonmultiplelistsoftenmustpayforanewsetoftests(Marchione).
Organsdonationwillprovidemoreorgans,andprovidetheabilityforotherswhoarein
deepneedorgans,tosurvive.Consequently,thepricesoforgansarehigh.Thecostofasingle
kidneyfromalivedonorisworth:$15,000(PoorWouldBeSellingOrganstoRichPeople,
NotViceVersa).Mostwealthierpeoplewouldbeabletoaffordtheprice,howeverthepoorer
wouldhavemoretroublespaying.Livertransplantscostabout$250,000(GettingALiver
Transplant).Hearttransplantscostonaveragecostbetween$550,000and$650,000(
Williams).Duetotheinformationabove,itisproventhatorgansareathighprices,andwould
favortherichmorethanthepoor.Theremaybemoreorgansbutwhattheorganswouldreally
doandhelpwithisthepeoplewhocouldaffordthepricesoftheorganitself.Asstated,a
singleheartcancostabout$550,000[to]$650,000(Williams),whichnoteveryonecan
afford.Inconclusion,organdonationwouldgivemoreorgans,however,theywillbesoldata
highprice.
Intheend,organdonationdoesfavortherichasmedicationwillcostalotofmoney.
Antirejectiondrugs,whichisamedicationthatmustbetakenafterthetransplant,makesurethat


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yourbodywillnotrejecttheorgansyouhavejustreceived.Inaddition,themedicationisnot
recommendedbydoctors.Usually,themedicationcan
costupto$2,500permonth(
Organ
Transplantation:TheProcess
).
Forexample,auterustransplantwasplanned,howevertheir
pregnancieswillbeconsideredhighrisk,withfetusesexposedtoantirejectiondrugsand
developinginsideawombtakenfromadeadwoman(Grady).Thewomanwhowantedto
becomepregnantwouldhavetotakethemedicationinordertoavoidherbodytoresistthenew
organ,andhavetheriskofaffectingthechildwhiletakingthemedicine.Takingthemedication
wouldbeusedatleastfor9months,andsomeonecouldimaginehowmanypillsitwouldbefor
eachday.Ifonewastotakethemedicationeveryday,itmustmeanthattheygothroughmany
bottles.Whichcouldcostfrom$10,000to$30,000ayear.Medicationtomakesureyourbody
doesntrejecttheorganwillcostalotofmoney,whichmaynotbecoveredbysomeinsurances.
Therefore,theantirejectionmedicationfavorstherichastheywillnothavemanyproblems
payingforthemedication.
Inconclusion,organdonationwillleadtothetroublesofthepoorasthepricesinthe
waitinglist,organs,andmedicationarehigh.
"Ittakesmoneyandknowledge...travelingcan
makeahugedifferenceinhowquicklyyougetanorgan,"saidRobertVeatch,amedicalethicist
attheKennedyInstituteofEthicsatGeorgetownUniversityandalongtimememberofthe
UNOSethicscommitteewhothinksthepolicyshouldbechanged.(Marchione),Veatchhas
statedthattravelingplaysaroleinbeingabletogetatransplant.Travelingcostsalargeamount
ofmoneywhichcanalsofavortherichasticketscanbehighlyexpensive.
Organdonationmay
helpotherslive,butthatwouldbethemajorityoftherichandnotthepoor.Everyoneshouldbe
abletolive,orhavetheirlovedonesstayalive,asanyfamilytriestheirbesttokeeptheirloved


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onesalive.Organdonationisagoodcause,howeverthepricesshouldbeloweredtohelpthe
oneswhoarelackinginmoneyorinsurance.


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WorksCited
"GettingaLiverTransplant."
GettingaLiverTransplantTheNationalKidneyFoundation
.The
NationalKidneyFoundation,24Dec.2015.Web.02May2016.
Grady,Denise."DoctorstoTryTransplantingaDonorUterus."
NewYorkTimes
.13Nov.2015:
A.1.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.05May2016.
Kaplan,Karen."OrganDonationBenefitsAre'Stellar'."
LosAngelesTimes.
30Jan.2015:A.19.
SIRSIssuesResearcher
.Web.25Apr.2016.
Marchione,Marilynn."WealthMayGiveAdvantageforGettingOrganTransplants."
Florida
Today
.09Nov.2015:n.p.
SIRSIssuesResearcher
.Web.25Apr.2016.
"MoreThan30,000TransplantsPerformedAnnuallyforFirstTime..."
TargetedNewsService
.
13Jan.2016:n/a.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.05May2016.
"OrganTransplantation:TheProcess."
Organdonor.gov|OrganTransplantation:TheProcess
.
Organdonor.gov,n.d.Web.03May2016.
"PoorWouldBeSellingOrganstoRichPeople,NotViceVersa."
BuffaloNews.
06Apr.2014:
p.
G.18.
SIRSIssuesResearcher
.Web.02May2016.
ProQuestStaff."AtIssue:OrganDonation."
ProQuestLLC
.2016:n.pag.
SIRSIssues
Researcher
.Web.28Apr.2016.
Williams,Joe."HearttransplantSurvivorsRealize'theMiracleofLife'afterSurgery."
Following
HeartTransplant,OviedoCoachTomHammontreeonRecoveryTrack
.Orlando
Sentinel,06Apr.2013.Web.02May2016


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