Organ Trading Saga

Dear All

It seems the reasons for and against organ trading are so persuasive. Those for organ trading are for the patients whose organs have failed. Those who are against say the poor will be exploited. The issue is not a simple one. When I showed Tiffany the newspaper regarding organ trading, she immediately said trading should be allowed. I was taken aback and asked her why. She said people are dying from organ failure so allow trading so that those people can live. It seems a straw poll by the Straits Times reveal as high as 60+% are agreeable to the idea of organ trading. For me..my gut feel is that is doesn't seem right. I guess if I or a loved one has organ failure, we would be very desparate to get an organ no matter the cost. But if you look closely, organ failure cuts across all social strata. Organ failure affects both the rich and the poor.

If you look at the cost of getting an organ, it is not a small amount. If organ trading is allowed, only the rich can afford to purchase the organs. A vast majority of the poor patients would not be able to afford to buy one. And who are the ones selling their organs? No prize for guessing the answer to that...of course it's the poorest in society. As it is, no one wants to part with their organ. However, when a sizable carrot is waved, it's those who are in desparate need of money for survival who would grab the carrot.

When I read the latest report able the 2 Indonesian men who were fined and jailed, the one who already had his kidney removed opened my eyes to the real potential for exploitation of the poor. After his organ was removed, he didn't bargain for poor health and constant pain on the operation site. He could not afford long-term medical care for his affected health, and his poor health affected his ability to find a job to support himself and his family. And what happened to the lady who took his kidney? Apparantly she has a new lease of life and never a care of the "donor" because it was a commercial transaction, and the "donor" was the sucker for it! Those who are for trading asked that a health insurance be purchased by the recipient for the "donor". That sounds quite pausible but which insurance company wants the burden of footing the medical cost of the "donor"? Ultimately, who will bear the true cost of insurance but the general public.

It seems like society is so de-sensitised to the evils of the world. I remember Father Bruno told us to pray for the sin of the world. When I asked him what sin, he said for society's sin of allowing abortion as an example. I would guess that allowing organ trading could be considered as another sin of the world.

I ask myself...if Jesus was here, what would he do or say? When his disciple cut off the soldier's ear, Jesus did a miracle healing. He did not make his discipline replace the soldier's ear with his own ear, did he? Bert mentioned sometime back, that without the advancement of medicine, his mum would not have lived that long. His mum had to go through a surgery some years back where the chances of survival from the operation was only 5%, but since technology was available, they agreed to the op although the chance was only 5%. As children, we are obliged to give any chance to let our loved ones live. On hindsight, he doesn't know if what they had done was really the right thing to do. Should we let our love one go peacefully or are we doing it for ourselves, or in fear of God, i.e. are we doing the right thing in the eyes of God? If medical advancement is not what it is today, we won't have the issue of organ trading. If a person is sick, we just do the best we can to relieve the pain, and then let him/her go. Medical advancements are both a boon and a bane. Anyway, I told Tiffany that a clear yes or no is not so clear, but I would think that I would lean towards a stronger no as the poorest in society would be clearly the losers. Afterall, it is to the poorest of the poor that Jesus came for, and as followers of Christ, we should follow His example and guide.

Sorry for the very long post, as this issue has been bugging me, and I've finally let off some steam and off my chest.

Love Theresa