| Organ Confiscation |
24 February 2003
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Jesica Santillan Dies from Bad Practice
A moment of silence for young Jesice Santillan, who died at the age of 17 following a second heart and lung transplant last week. And then days of anger because she was killed not only by a disease and a terrible medical mistake, but also by public policy in America that prevents automatic organ harvesting.
Finger pointing over how the young lady was given organs that did not match her blood type will drag through the courts for years. Yet, the real culprit is the criminal shortage of organs that exists. There are 4 times as many people waiting for some organs as there are organs available in any given year. And every day, people are buried or cremated with perfectly good organs.
Greater education is one option, but as with most voluntary approaches to public policy, it is too little to affect most of the problem. Instead, America must lead the world in making organ harvesting at the death bed automatic. This is, admittedly, a ghoulish proposal, but the unvarnished truth is that the dead have no futher use for their organs any more than they have a use for their property. We have laws governing the disposal of property, and the time has come to pass laws governing organ donation.
There are groups who, on religious grounds, will object, and every accommodation must be made for them. Most, though, don't care or will approve of the idea. Jesica Santillan may have died in any case; she was a sick young woman. Yet, there should have been a surplus of organs for her doctor to call upon. It probably wouldn't have prevented the first transplant mistake, but she wouldn't have lingered for days while another match was found.