The Organ Deficiency

[Athena]

Not too long ago, Brokenandtwisted informed us of a plan to establish an opt-out system for organ donation in Canada. Canada, like everywhere these days, is suffering from a shortage of donated organs, and it's looking for solutions. Singapore is in a similar boat. Hundreds if not thousands of sick individuals are in need of organs that the country simply doesn't have. Singapore, however, is considering a direction slightly different than Canada's - Legalizing the organ trade.

Buying or selling organs is currently banned in every country but Iran. That being said, it certainly doesn't stop people from trying. In Singapore, a retail mogul, Tang Wee Sung, has been charged with attempting to buy himself a kidney for $220,000. It was in considering cases like Tang's that the health minister suggested that perhaps the city should look to offer money for kidney donations. Here in the states, they already do that with plasma.

The idea has a lot of opponents, including the Singapore Medical Association. From the article: "It is not a good idea to legalize payment for organ donors as such payment institutionalizes the belief that the wealthy ill have property rights to the body parts of the poor," says Professor A. Vathsala, director of the adult renal transplantation program and head of nephrology at Singapore's National University Hospital.

That may be true, but the fact of the matter, here, is that we've got a big problem that won't get any better with time.

What do you think? Should we allow people to be compensated for organ donations?