Freedom is fantastic! While researching Dr. Summer Johnson’s blog posting regarding the waiting list for organs and the story of a man who confessed to killing his wife of 18 years I found another blog posting that was even more intriguing to my social media studying mind. Dr. Johnson authored another blog about a woman who had found an organ donor via facebook. This 53 year old lady had been receiving dialysis for eight years when she decided to reach out to her facebook network to ask for a donor. Within a day she had gotten approximately 200 responses and from those she was able to find a matching donor and received a kidney transplant.
The doctor goes on to speak about the issue as to whether it is ethical to find a donor in this way. As long as it’s not a financial transaction I agree with her conclusion: “And if this reduces the number of people waiting on transplant lists even the smallest [of] fractions, I’d be hard pressed to say it is a bad thing.”
So I decided to go to facebook and search for organ donation related posts by people; not just in my network but among all public postings. What I found posed an even more interesting ethical question, in my opinion. There were hundreds of posts made by people telling the world that they’d become organ donors and recommending that their friends do the same. Then I altered my search and began looking for posts regarding donation of specific organs. What I found were myriad posts where people were joking about doing something that would cause them to need an organ transplant such as binge drinking or heavy drug use. These people are making light of a situation that many are actually dealing with. Is it right for them to act in such a way, even if it is in jest?
If, right now, you’re thinking “They’re just having fun” or “What’s got his panties in a wad, there’s nothing malicious in the joking” then I may be wrong. I see this type of joking in a very similar light as using the societal label of any other group in a derogatory way such as calling someone a “retard” or saying something is “gay”. Am I alone here?
Joking in this way is not in my character although I do have an odd sense of humor; but I don’t see any reason to be angry over the use of any of these labels in jest. As long as no physical harm is coming to anyone and the words aren’t used in a direct and intentionally hurtful way toward their respective social groups then there has been no harm. Maybe the ethics isn’t in the action itself, it’s in our reaction.
I am becoming more libertarian everyday and that is what prompts my answer regarding organ donation. I don’t have a problem with people selling their organs. It would flood the market with much needed organs and it would help many that are in a financial bind. It’s FTW-W, for the win-win.
Of course this new market would have to be regulated to a degree in order to prevent an acceleration of black market organ harvesting. I won’t go into great detail about regulation, but I think something as simple as requiring the organ be removed from a living, breathing donor at a transplant site would curb much of it.
If someone wants to sell their organs then it is beyond me to stop them. Part of one’s body is one’s own property so the right is theirs. I don’t necessarily agree with profiting from such risky behavior but I won’t look down upon anyone for doing what is necessary for them.
Dan, there was a guy in Singapore who made the headlines because he went out of the country to buy a kidney. He was a multi millionaire. Great post as always.
Some people will do whatever they can to survive. Having money gives these people an advantage that, at times, is quite unfair.