I read in one of our fine media outlets, I can’t remember which, that the Health Minister recently said something to the effect of monetarily motivated organ donations being a definite no no.
When I searched for it, not only could I not find the quote, I read that the same said Minister “has not rejected the idea of legalising organ trading in Singapore but he said it must be studied more carefully”.
U-Turn or see saw or whatever, here’s the thing: It is illegal at the moment, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there have been many more cases of organ trading here which have gone undetected, and with that, a burgeoning black market involving and, in my possibly ill-informed but humble opinion, unfairly enriching dodgy middlemen.
Again, in my possibly ill-informed but humble opinion, if an organ trading legal framework could be put in place, such contracts would come under the scrutiny of the courts, and with that, the possibility of rectifying unfair contracts. It follows that both donor and recipient stand to gain from this.
More importantly, donors who are financially motivated (i.e. poor) to trade their organs for cash can possibly be protected by this framework to ensure that their needs, financial and medical, are met with due care.
Even more importantly, that takes out the fucker who asks for $300,000 to look for a donor for you when the donor is only getting $27,000.
Have a good and careful study, Mr Minister, and do something right.
Link: Yawning Bread
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