In the contemporary world of medicine, it is
evident that organ transplant has the capacity of saving numerous lives.
Nevertheless, there exists a problem due to unavailability of adequate organs
to meet the existing demand. The purchase as well as sale of human organs is
illegal globally, something that has led to the creation of a human organ black
market so as to meet the demand. Organ trade refers to the selling of human
organs that are used for transplants. The most commonly traded organs are the
kidneys. According to CNN news on June 30, 2014 about how organ traffickers in
Nepal steal kidneys, it can be argued that the organ brokers are criminals who
should get stiff penalties for their crimes. The illegal organ trade is
lucrative as it brings profits that range from $514 million to $1 billion
annually (Pokharel, 2014). A crime refers to an illegal act that is evil or
wrong and which ought to be punishable by law. The criminality of organ
trafficking in Nepal lies in the manner in which the poor and uneducated people
are duped into giving away part of themselves. This paper will argue on the criminality
of human organ trade on the grounds of the act being evil or wrong.
Human organ traffic is a crime as many poor,
and uneducated people are often duped to parting with a piece of their body.
According to the June 30, 2014 CNN report, uneducated people are duped that
“the meat will grow back.†The case of Nawaraj Pariyar, a poor and uneducated
family man is used to expose the evil of human trafficking. Nawaraj Pariyar was
duped that a hunk of his meat would be cut and payable by $30,000 (Pokharel, 2014).
Nevertheless, he was not told that the chunk of meat was actually his kidney.
The question remains, is it morally or legally right to make a person give part
of his body by means of lies? To eliminate the criminality of this act, Nawaraj
Pariyar should have received informed consent about what he was doing as well
as the health risks that were involved. Non-disclosure of such vital
information amounts to a criminal act that should be punished by law (Territo
& Matteson, 2012, p.15). Furthermore, the traffickers did not pay up the
agreed amount to Nawaraj Pariyar as he only received less than 1% of the agreed
amount. Are people comfortable with acts like this? Was this fair to Nawaraj
Pariyar? It is obvious that no one would like someone else to take advantage of
him this way and exploit him. The injustice served to Nawaraj only meets the
greedy need of the organ traffickers. According to Scheper-Hughes (2014), this
crime in the black market is brought by the fact that demand for human organ
outstrips its supply.
Human organs sale is a criminal act globally,
even though many medical ethicists argue in favor of legalizing this action so
as to address the desperate shortage of organs for the people who are
suffering. Most of the organs trafficking are based on the economic condition
of the donors, as the poor are often exploited by selling their body organs in
the black market (Carney, 2011, p.45). Donors who are poor, as well as
desperate need money, are smuggled into countries like India and the U.S. to have
their body organs removed with the promise of some form of remuneration. In
some cases, human organ trafficking amounts to a crime as it entails violence
through the use of both coercion and force, and physical threats. According to
the CNN report, the social stigma and threats to victims from traffickers keep
them from coming forward.
Human organ trafficking is a crime as it seems
to be benefiting some very sick people in need of organ transplants at the
expense of others who are less visible or dispensable. The organ traffickers as
well use different tactics of persuasion to recruit naive people such as abroad
employment. Other people may go for minor surgeries in hospitals such as
abdominal surgeries only to have a longer than normal recovery period along
with a larger than anticipated scar in their body (BBC, 2015). They only notice
later that some part of their body was removed without their consent. This is a
serious criminal activity that should be punishable by law.
In conclusion, as this paper has argued, human organ trafficking is a criminal act that is driven by the soaring demand for organs. This has made the middlemen in this black market to use cunning means to lure and exploit unsuspecting poor and uneducated people in giving away their organs. Taking advantage of the poor people’s economic condition, as well as their unawareness, to exploit them is a wrongdoing that amounts to a criminal act. As a result, a legally regulated system should be established so as to curb the purchasing and sale of organs.
Additional articles
The American Gothic is a painting done by Grant Wood done during the 1930s that mere the Great Depression in the United States. Born on a farm close to the small town of Anamosa in 1891, Wood, exhibited interest in art from childhood often drawing...American-Gothic-painting-by-Grant-Wood …
Read ArticleThe Scopes Trial: Navigating the Clash Between Evolution and CreationismEvolution is a scientific theory established to explain the origin and development of biodiversity through time. It is based on the inheritance of characteristics from parent...Evolution-vs.-Creation:-Unraveling-the-Historical-Conflict-through-the-Scopes-Trial …
Read ArticleRacial profiling is move applied by law enforcement agencies that involves discriminately associating a particular category people with criminal activities due to their social distinctions based on their ethnicity and race. It is imbedded in the p...Is-State-Racial-Profiling-Fair? …
Read Article