Consider the level of desperation in the following situations:
1. Without money: There is no money to feed the family,not even the money required for transportation to go to the big city for a job. The person sees the younger ones in the family maldeveloping due to lack of nutrition, the elder ones of the family withering away to death. In such a situation the person is bound to feel "I can do anything which will help my family to get out of this misery". If such a person sells his kidney for a lakh or so rupees and uses the money well to feed the family and buy necessities and to arrange for a sufficiently paying job, and also according to a senior surgeon that it doesnt shorten the lifespan of the person if done properly, the logic being that if one kidney can catch an infection, the other can too. So the man may give his family and himself a much better life and take them out of the earlier misery. Also the children have a chance of living their life better.
2. Without kidney: A person has worked really hard throughout his life, to have earned enough money that he starts feel around 40 about his money and bank balance and feels that he can enjoy a better life now with no financial worries. If this person falls ill, ends up in a hospital and comes to know that his kidneys are not working properly and all attempts to revive his kidneys have failed. The person lies on the hospital bed and asks god "what have I done wrong to be made to suffer all this". Doctors inform him that the best thing he can expect is that he has to come to the hospital every 3-4 days for a dialysis if not sooner. What that means he cant move or travel a lot, in this desperation situation he is bound to think "I can do anything to get my life back, to be able to go on morning walks, to take my family out on weekends".
3. A businessman: Or should I say a monopolist. He would set the price of his product at his own free will to gain the max. profit possible. And like all businessmen he would want to lower his cost price and raise his selling price as much as possible. That is what all businessmen do, nothing wrong in that. Is there?
Now comparing the abovementioned three, who would you say is wrong:
1. The man who tries to earn himself and his family a better standard of living and take them out of the misery of poverty by a donation?
2. The man who wants to get his life back and is ready to pay anything for it?
3. The monopolist who wants to earn max. profit?
In my opinion , none is wrong and all theree are justified in their actions as they are carried out of desperate circumstances. But our dear govt. has banned donation of kidneys by anyone outside the patient's family. Why is that there? I guess that is because that would lead to a chaos as people needing kidneys would try and lure people who are poor to donate theirs with the power of money.
One thing is for sure, there is both demand for kidney donation and more than enough kidney donors in the nation, what is amiss is the proper and just system for the exchange.
This leads to a very perilous situation where a man cannot live his life longer and healthily, others cant enjoy a better standard of living, just because the government cannot mange the transfer and cannot put in a system for it.
The situation demands a high attention level from the government, which would ensure the smooth transfer of the kidneys and adequate compensation. The government should allow transfer of kidney from outside the family but in turn it must require from the family of the patient to sign on donation certificates for their kidneys in case these are deemed usable at the time of their death. After a certain period of time this would ensure enough kidneys in the country to be used by anyone needing them. Also this would bring in a sense of seriousness and commitment from the family who is buying the kidney in the first place. Also there should be centers developed where the family of the donor and the patient can meet and settle on the donation money or better still the amount can be decided by the govt itself.
Hopefully the govt can come up with a solution soon enough, i think i am being too optimistic, hopefully the government recognizes this problem soon enough before more of such rackets happen.
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2 comments:
Nice line of thought! Good to see that you take the pains of considering and weighing all sides of the issue and come out with balanced and nearly correct observations. Also good to see that you are a concerned and informed citizen.
About the post, very systematic and organised. Refined and level-headed. A solution that I would propose is the setting up of recognised kidney-banks. You proposed the idea, though a lil more indirectly, in your post too. The basic purpose is the setting up of a government intermediary that would sanction all kidney-related transactions with a seal of approval and authenticity. Should ideally solve a lot of illegal kidney-sale related problems.
The best part about education is that it educates you enough to see the justifications for all that goes on around us. It leads to the conception of an open, receptive mind that is free to accept and consider others points of view. Not everybody can do it. Nevertheless, I do have my qualms against what you said about businessmen (had to advocate for my fraternity, eh?)...
You wrote:
"A businessman: Or should I say a monopolist. He would set the price of his product at his own free will to gain the max. profit possible. And like all businessmen he would want to lower his cost price and raise his selling price as much as possible. That is what all businessmen do, nothing wrong in that. Is there?"
First, he wasnt a monopolist. There were others selling kidneys too. Second, lemme open your eyes to the ethical angle of doing business. They say no business survives in the long run if they deviate from the path of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Dr.Amit/Kidney kingpen/Dr. Horror must have worked on similar lines. Then how come he managed to overlook so much and falter so bad? Next... the whole premises is proved wrong when you try to make it case-specific. We're talking about a doctor here... agreed just a normal science grad... but still a (pseudo)doctor. To entirely call him a businessman would be wrong. He was dealing with people's lives here and thats a much higher price than just monetary profits or loses. Kidney aint no commodity, and any human being who refuses to see that is hardly human at heart and shouldnt be used as an example to justify what an entire community does.
Anyhow... I liked the post and looking forward to more write-ups from you in the future :)
Ya true, a kidney bank is needed with its seal of approval and authenticity but it isnt actually black and white that you make a kidney bank and the next day ppl line up to donate and collect kidneys. Too many protocols and rules need to be set. Thats why i said that the government should try and solve the problem as soon as possible and then corrected myself to be more realistic and say that the govt atleast should recognise the problem.
Oh education sure does broaden your horizon and give you the ability to view the problem from various angles.
I wasnt talking about Dr. Amit in particular or trying to justify his deeds, what i was trying to do was to show that there is actually a vaccum in the system and there may be more people with the desire and the means to do the same. And the CSR thing, i am sure he wouldnt have had thought about it, if he would have had then the payments to the donors would not have been so less.
I completely agree with the view that kidneys are not commodities and should not be treated that ways and by being case specific is not the best way to approach the situation but by being case specific i wanted to show the presence of vacuum and the simultaneous presence of the supply to fill up the vacuum. The system is what is required or else other businessmen (lacking CSR) would take the opprtunity and make money and put other people's life at risk and without adequate compensation.
Thanks for your visit and invaluable comments!!!
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