Organ Transplants in the UK Essay -- Healthcare

The need for organs in the UK is increasing by an outstanding rate, leaving up to 5000 people to die, while waiting for an organ to be donated, each year. Hospitals and their resources are exhausted. The number of donated organs is simply not enough to keep up with the increasing demand for healthy, transplantable organs. Scientists have in recent years come up with numerous advances in this area of science; however various issues have become apparent on the road to successful transplantation. Transplantation is the process of replacing a damaged or failing organ with a compatible functioning one. For years the only foreseeable solution were voluntary donors who allowed the use of their organs after they passed away or live donors who were prepared to donate cells, blood or transplantable organs such as kidneys. The main issue with organ transplantation is the lack of donors. Governments in the past have put forward the idea of compulsory donation. However some people argue that this is unethical and a person has the right to refuse. In some major religions the idea of harming the body after death is just simply not an option. Counter arguments claim that these issues are irrelevant as the number of lives saved would outweigh any negatives; they would be ‘saving lives’. Transplants from human donors are relatively straightforward on the face of it however underneath the surface hides a tangle of ethical and moral concerns. What are the sources of organs used in transplantation? Should we pay for organs? Should someone who has already received one transplant, be allowed a second? Should alcoholics be given liver transplants? Yes, in the United Kingdom, organs are sourced from volunteers, however in recent years the issue of or... ...arch?’ http://www.sciencemag.org/content/318/5858/1917.abstract, ‘Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines Derived from Human Somatic Cells’, November 2007 http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/About-us/Policy/Spotlight-issues/Human-Fertilisation-and-Embryology-Act/Stem-cell-basics/WTD040077.htm, ‘The ethics of stem cells’ http://www.stemcellresources.org/pdf/uw_ethics.pdf, ‘The ethics of stem cells’ http://stemcells-research.net/2011/07/09/stem-cells-ethics/, ‘stem cell ethics’ http://ndt.oxfordjournals.org/content/27/3/1246.full.pdf+html?sid=cc03e2a4-2c56-4dfa-9a45-2ac85b454869, ‘Comparison between bortezomib and rituximab in the treatment of antibody-mediated renal allograft rejection’ Journals/Books: Budiani-Saberi, Da; Delmonico, Fl, "Organ trafficking and transplant tourism: a commentary on the global realities.†, American journal of transplantation, May 2008