Organ Donation Should Be Made Mandatory

However, I do not accept the changes in definition made by my opponent to the term "mandatory". This is because this MUST occur upon death. This resolution could not be accepted if the person was still living as it can be considered murder, therefore to keep the debate fair the person must be dead before donating their organs. I will be bringing forth 3 contentions arguing for why organ donation should be made mandatory. 1. Saves Lives 2. Increases Scientific Knowledge 3. Curbs illegal activity First of all, before I even proceed on to my contentions, I would like to counter some of the arguments that I have no doubt my opponent will raise. Firstly, the point that the body is your own body, nobody else. However, after death is your body still yours? Why waste an organ that you won't need when you can save some body's life? Would you rather leave a kidney in an 83 year old man, or save the life of a 7 year old boy? Furthermore, I have no doubt that my opponent will raise the point of religious tolerance, and how religions such as Hinduism do not allow the body to be tampered before cremation. However, with the prospect of saving lives and organ donation technology, almost every religion has made allowances for organ donation as they recognize the value of saving lives [2]. I will now proceed on to my first contention, it SAVES LIVES. 1. SAVES LIVES A new nickname has appeared amongst the medical community. The nickname is for motorcycles. The new name for motorcycles are "Organ Cycles". Why? Because of how dangerous driving a motorcycle can be. The increased risk of car crashes increases the chance that the drivers will donate their organs to those on wait lists. Horrifyingly, people do listen to the radio hoping to hear the news of a car crash. Currently, in the United States, 114 827 people are on a wait list, waiting for an organ. Everyday, 18 people die waiting for an organ. Furthermore, just donating 1 organ can save 8 lives. [1] Organs can survive for a very long time after death, allowing for time for the organ to be transported and the person receiving the organ to be contacted. Heart/Lungs: Can be preserved for up to 4 - 6 hours after death Pancreas: Can be preserved for up to 12 hours after death Liver: Can be preserved for up to 24 hours after death Kidneys: Can be preserved for up to 48 - 72 hours after death Corneas: Can be preserved for up to 5 - 7 days after death Heart Valves, Skin, Bones: Can be preserved for up to 3 - 10 years after death [2] After death, the organs can be removed and prepared for transplant to another human being. Making organ donation mandatory could prevent 18 people from dying each day. Organ donations can also be used for scientific purposes, which I shall now move on to in my second contention. 2. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH Donating organs (or whole body donations) furthers scientific research as more test subjects are available for testing. This is also an alternative for someone who donates a diseased organ. This will undoubtedly save more lives in the future as cures could possibly be found from conducting tests on these diseased organs. Donated organs have resulted in an increase of understanding and research for these disease: Heart Disease Diabetes HIV Spinal Injuries Joint Replacements Cancer Research Osteoporosis Colon and Liver Treatments Breast Cancer Reproductive Advancements Advanced Drug Delivery Paramedic Training Alzheimer's Research Cochlear Implant Development [3] This increased knowledge will lead to a change in future health care, making it more efficient and effective. 3. CURBS ILLEGAL ACTIVITY In the current desperation of those who are impoverished, one of the options is to donate one of their kidneys on the black market. In Bangladesh, those who donate a kidney on the black market receives around $1500 [4]. Furthermore, in American these organs can be taken by force when the body is waiting for cremation. Organs and tissue is taken from these bodies and donated to hospitals and research facilities around the country. When these tissues are donated, tissues that have diseases are often passed off as "healthy" with forged papers. Illegal tissue from a single cadaver has reached 90 tissue transplant recipients. Clearly, the black market organ donation is very dangerous to the health of those who need organs. So, what have we learned today? Organ donation saves lives and has been associated with advanced research and knowledge in the field of medicine. Furthermore, mandatory organ donation curbs the need for black market organ donations. For these reasons, Vote Con. Sources: . http://www.organdonor.gov...... . http://www.donatelifeillinois.org...... . http://www.sciencecare.com...... . http://www.abovetopsecret.com......