I'd like to take a first step toward preparing a policy suggestion for the Senator by organizing a debate among members of our ethics committee. In my work on the ethics committee in the past, I’ve found debates particularly helpful in unearthing multiple perspectives. Specifically, we will debate the question:

“Are there any conditions under which it should be legal to buy and sell organs within the United States (from and to donors and recipients within the United States and around the world)?”

There are two positions that we could take on this issue:

• Negative Position: No, there are no conditions under which we should allow the sale of organs.


• Affirmative Position: Yes, there are conditions under which we should allow the sale of organs. This position will also require you to spell out what you believe those conditions are and why.

I’d like you to continue working in teams and I’ll be assigning each team a position for the debate. You won’t know which position you will be asked to argue until we are ready to debate, so I would like you to prepare to argue both positions. You may not believe in the position you are asked to argue, but you must do the job to the best of your ability. Once the debate is over, each person will have an opportunity to explain his or her own personal opinion on the issue in a written report, and to justify his/her opinion.

Your Task

To begin preparing for the debate, please review the articles on ethics below. As you read, decide whether the article is for or against the sale of organs. Take notes on the arguments the articles present. Specifically, note any conditions upon which the authors base their arguments. Look for factual evidence they use to support their claims. You will need this evidence when you prepare to argue your assigned position for the debate. I have attached the Article Review template to help you organize your notes.

This is a difficult and complicated issue. Best of luck!

Sincerely,

Chris Jones, M.D.
Chair, Ethics Committee
Lincoln Regional Medical Center

ARTICLES

Organs for Sale
The recipient of a live-donor kidney transplant wrote this article, and she is a physician as well. It offers a compelling argument for allowing organ sale, taking into consideration economic factors.

Studying Organ Sales: short term profits, long term suffering
This article discusses the negative effects of organ donation on the donor, as well as general economic and health issues.

Eight Ethical Objections to an Organ Market...And Why They're Wrong
This article advocates for the sale of organs.

Pakistan becoming a kidney market
This article takes a lot of anecdotal evidence into account and offers many different perspectives on the issue of organ sales.

Kidneys for Sale
This piece offers specific ethical arguments for and against the sale of non-vital organs.