“Tick, tock, tick, tock.”

Annie could feel time being sucked away from her life as she started to regain consciousness again. She wanted every moment to count, but not spend wasted time in a hospital bed recovering from organ transplantation between her and her older sister. Gradually, her eyes began to flutter open, but everything appeared discombobulated, and utterly hazy. Annie remembered her sister at the ripe age of seventeen, completely frail and diseased dependent on Annie for more time… Annie’s time. She did love her. Regardless, she shuddered at the thought of surgery, when she was completely healthy. Annie yearned to break her silence, but would that result in her sister’s death?

Organ harvesting is a growing concern worldwide. It is detrimental that people gain knowledge about this before partaking in it for the reason that it poses high risks of difficulties. Even though organ harvesting is much debated, it continues to be used for various purposes. It possesses a number of pros and cons, thus leading to a wide range of opinions formulating towards it. This process can be threatening to many lives, yet many surgeries have been successful. Although organ harvesting requires a significant amount of attention it continues to gain momentum for saving other people’s lives, raises ethical debates, and its abilities have also been misused.







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Figure 1.
A large amount of the world’s population is initiating successful programs to spread knowledge and information about organ harvesting, thus leading people to be more open-minded and to have an acceptance towards it. Many continue to put it into consideration as well, since this encompasses beneficial aspects. Although this subject is rather premature also because it is a new concept, foreign countries find this procedure to be quite effective. In India, new schemes are launched “to promote transplantation of organs harvested from cadavers and sturring up of an Appropriate Authority for Cadaver Transplantation” (Hindu). Most of these countries are trying to distinguish acceptable ways in advocating organ harvesting and preventing controversies from erupting. In developing countries like India, the population is booming. This method is a favorable aspect to India’s healthcare and a major contribution from health workers because it provides a basis for a more varied approach in saving people’s lives. Not only does it help save the lives of those who need it, but also give a sense of hope to those who are fighting for their lives. Other circumstances organ harvesting may be useful is by “providing perfectly compatible body parts for persons who need them or that is could enable infertile couples and homosexuals to have “biological” offspring” (Kontorovich 2). Organ harvesting implements faith into those who dream of a child and fulfills their desire to have one. It helps increase organ harvesting to a
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great degree by showing others that they can try this method without having face difficulties. Organ harvesting satisfies a barren person of something they are naturally incapable of. The extraction of identical cells of one offspring to help save another also comes in handy for families who have to deal with an ill child. In this method, cells and tissues are harvested and transplanted into the affected child, thus helping the child’s needs to be fulfilled and replenished. In a large number of areas organ donors are the ones spreading the knowledge of the benefits of donating organs and helping the people in need. Figure 1 above shows the number of donors throughout the past years and this helps donors use to their avail and diffuse knowledge to the adults and youth nowadays that can increase the statistics shown in the chart to skyrocket. Organ harvesting is a very significant cause in this society that sustains importance to many of the leading healthcare professionals. It is something that is breaking out in different parts of the world because people are beginning to see the pragmatism in using this, if used constructively.

Along with the pros of this, it is also seen as a necessary evil by people who have used it for torture purposes or solely for personal gain. In China, exploitation has occurred which “accepts that organs for transplants are being sourced from prisoners” (“Stop”). In Falun Gong, formers prisoners have described the conditions as torturous happenings. This appears to be a highly unjust and gruesome situation and could lead to people being unsupportive about organ harvesting. Others who are less educated about this may become less prone to approaching this due to events such as this. Prisoners from the Falun Gong depict organ harvesting to be a horrendous method of organ transplantation and extraction. That does not happen to be the only problem which is preventing many from taking part in this. The use of force will easily lead to swaying opinions and can create repugnance within people that ever consider it. Ethical issues also play a role influencing people about organ harvesting. People that strongly oppose this
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believe “the manufacture of human beings on demand without conception would turn people into made-to-order goods, and would in aggregate debase our respect for human life” (Frieden 1). These beliefs are stirred on the basis of past morals and values. This world has a natural function, and regardless of whichever new type of technology emerges, people will steadfastly hold onto what they truly believe in. The natural cycle will be disrupted if people continue to harvest organs. Though, this is not the only reason this way of approaching a large number of medical difficulties is avoided. The fact that a lot of people have to go through this process without consent adds to the growing resentment of the population. Harvesting organs is efficient, but finding organ donors can be problematic as well compared to the population of the United States, the number of organ donors is very low as seen in Figure 1. Therefore, in developing countries it is even harder to find donors. Initially, they do not know the fundamentals of organ harvesting, and it is even harder when the concept is completely new to them. Even though organ harvesting is continuing to grow, its setbacks are innumerable which bring it down enormously, making people realize it is not so great after all.
I highly disagree with organ harvesting for a number of reasons. I believe that something such as this which can be misused poses a threat to mankind. It questions the authority of God especially when a subcategory of organ harvesting is cloning. Much of the surgeries by and large relate to cloning. There are surmountable areas in the medical field that are ethically acceptable and have people's approval. Another reason this should be prevented is because of the entire mental and psychological trauma it causes. This definitely affects the survivors who go through the torture dramatically. It creates an unnecessary fear that could have been avoided. It may be helpful, but that too has its limitations. In essence, it appears more problematic then an attribute.


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Annie was lying there staring at the wall clock which was ticking away. Every tick meant a lost second of her life which could have been spent walking her dog Maxi with his scruffy main and shiny fur or collecting seashells by the shore nearby. There she lay; thinking about what she could do and yet had done nothing about it. Annie wanted to be free of this stress, this fear, she would have to face until her sister got better. Till when though? This could linger on for years and she was not prepared for it. Without a doubt her sister would support this decision, because she was the one to plant it. Annie agreed though. She was going to take a stand, even if it resulted in her sister's health to weaken to a point of no return.