The United States is a country that is full of top-notch medical clinics and innovative procedures, yet there is still a major crisis in the medical system: the shortage of organs. As of right now, there are approximately 123,306 people in need of an organ transplant according to the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network. For these people, there are only 14,412 donors available. Currently, in the United States, organs are only procured by voluntary donation. With this system in place, there are obviously people who have registered as donors, but these donors still do not fill the gap enough to help solve the major shortage of organs. That being said, a new solution is needed to help solve the organ shortage once and for all. Legalizing the procurement of organs through cadaveric conscription would be a viable solution to the organ shortage by increasing the donor to recipient ratio.
Cadaveric conscription of organs would involve removing useable organs from recently deceased individuals' bodies and then transplanting the needed organs into transplant patients. Organs would include kidneys, pancreas, liver, heart, lungs, and other internal structures. The mentality surrounding the process of conscription is simple. Why not use perfectly good organs that would otherwise go to waste? Think about it. Currently, unless a deceased individual is registered as a donor in the United States, his/her organs which could potentially save lives will either rot in the ground or be diminished to ashes in a crematorium. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that 130,557 deaths per year are directly caused by unintentional accidents, such as car crashes. Although certain organs from these deceased individuals' bodies would not be able to be used for transplant due to direct damage, other vital organs could still be conscripted. For example, if someone died strictly from an impalement to the skull, his/her internal organs in the abdominal and thoracic cavities could still be used for transplant because they were not damaged. So, the possibility of procurement depends on the way or reason a person dies. That is what ultimately decides on what organs could be conscripted and vice versa. Without needing consent, the amount of organs available for transplant would obviously increase. Previous non-donors would automatically become donors with the conscription method of procurement, and therefore would have an advantageous effect on the donor to transplant patient ratio. More donors equals more organs for patients who are fatally in need. There are currently about 123,306 people in need of an organ. One person can actually save up to 8 lives with their organs. If organs were conscripted out of those 130,557 people, it would surely be enough for the 123,306 currently in need. These lives would be saved.
