Christian Longo, an inmate at Oregon State Penitentiary, founded G.A.V.E. in response to the great need for organs in the United States. On his organization’s website, he notes that today over 100,000 people are in need of organ donation while there are 2,000,000 viable donations available from inmates (there can be multiple donations from one person). Christian is not the only one who has these feelings. Many inmates and people around the world believe that organ donation is a positive way to make right the inmates’ societal wrongs. They also feel that the inmates should have the right to decide how their bodies should be used after death.
While this problem seems to have a simple solution, it actually provokes many different debates about the morality and even the feasibility of this idea. The problem with taking inmates organs after they die starts with the medical possibility. The methods of execution today include lethal injection and the electric chair. The cyanide in the lethal injection immediately contaminates the internal organs rendering them useless. The electric chair essentially fries the internal organs also rendering them useless. As a solution there are two proposed methods of inducing death; brain death and stopping the heart. During these operations, the inmate would be under anesthesia, and therefore they would not feel any pain.
Some problems also arise in the morality of the issue. In China, the donor process of inmates has been corrupted to some extent. Two thirds of donated organs come from inmates. While the need for donation was and still is great, people started to suspect that people were being sent to death row just to provide organs to others. The solution in China: all death sentences must be sent to the Supreme Court for approval. In the United States such a decision, if it became necessary, would tie up the legislative process for other cases being sent to the Supreme Court. There are also measures set up to make sure that inmates do not get wrongly coerced into donation if unwanted. There would be contracts that would have to be signed to make sure that their body would be taken care of in the way that they wished.
While this issue is complicated and poses different problems, the fact is many inmates on death row are proponents of this idea. They understand that their crimes were wrong but they see this as a way to contribute to the society that they harmed.
For an animated short overview of this topic go to this site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONsEpfeZ3nI
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ReplyDeleteUsing organs donated by prison inmates seems like a good idea, but there are many underlying issues that could arise. I agree that the donation of organs to people who are in need of them can in a sense undo the societal wrongs the inmates have caused. However, it would have to be a completely voluntary process. The only inmates participating should be those who volunteer to do so. This way, it is certain that no inmate's rights are violated, because prisoners do have some rights despite their circumstances. It would be wrong for inmates to be sent to death just so that more organs could be used. This is a difficult situation because it deals with life and death and who deserves the organs more. I agree with the processes of putting the inmates to death regarding the use of anesthesia to make them comfortable while still keeping the valuable organs in usable condition. Overall I support the use of inmate organs in other people, but it is a difficult situation and the appropriate precautions should be taken to avoid the rights of the prisoners being taken advantage of.
ReplyDeleteIf the United States could figure out the logistics of letting criminals on death row donate their organs, then many lives could be saved. The youtube overview of the issue said that twelve people's lives could be saved with the organs from just one death row inmate. Thousands of people are on waiting lists to receive organs, and the more people that we can get to donate their organs, the better. If the method of executing death row criminals is changed to putting them under anesthesia and then taking their organs, the process is still humane and they feel no pain. However, instead of simply killing a criminal for their wrongdoing, society is now benefiting from their death. However, while all of this may sound good on paper, in reality it will be very hard for this to occur. Like anything else, this process could have negative side effects and I feel that the media would constantly be making accusations that people were put on death row, just so that their organs could be harvested. But there is still hope because I think that if China can do it, then the United States can as well. We can use China as a model, make necessary adaptations to fit the needs of our country, and then put the option into place in America.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very difficult debate... the demand for organs is high so I believe we should be able to take organs from criminals receiving the death penalty because a good, innocent person could benefit. Think about a person's family and how much they would appreciate an organ that could save a sick person's life. If a human was so awful as to do something that deserves a death penalty, using the organs to save a good person should be ok. If there seems to be abuse to the system, the Supreme Court can handle it.
ReplyDeleteI believe that using the organs from death row inmates to help other people is a very good idea. This topic would cause a lot of controversy if it was set into motion within the United States largely because, although I would not feel this way, I feel that other people would not want organs from prison inmates in their loved ones. However, with the high amount of organ donors needed, people need to acknowledge that sustaining the lives of their loved ones is more important than where the organs came from, granted it is from a healthy individual. Some prison inmates are even willing to donate several organs and many want to fulfill this action in order to redeem their past actions.
ReplyDeleteAnother student wrote, "We can use China as a model, make necessary adaptations to fit the needs of our country, and then put the option into place in America." This idea is very intelligent and I firmly believe the United States should act on it. As long as the United States works on their methods of execution for death row inmates, as to not harm the organs of those who wish to donate, donating could work. One issue brought up on this subject is that there would not be enough time for other cases sent to the Supreme Court. Other cases might be important, but the cases on death row inmates donating organs could save several lives.
When I read that lethal injection and electrocution would damage the organs to be donated, I wondered if going back in history and hanging people would be the answer. It does make sense to stop something like the heart or the brain instead, but after the anesthesia is put into effect, how do they actually stop these vital pieces of our bodies? Is it a surgery? Are the electrocuting one central area being the brain or the heart?
ReplyDeleteAlso, if we were to have all death sentences processed through the Supreme Court, it was mentioned that it would tie up the legislative process for other cases. What if we had a court system specifically for death row, aside from the Supreme Court?
Another question I have is, if an inmate that is on death row was previously registered as an organ donor, such as on the license/ID, do they take the inmate's organs? Or disregard the organ donor card?
Lastly, what happens if an inmate on death row refuses to donate their organs after their execution? Is this also disregarded as an addition fine for their crime?
So in my conclusion, I would definitely say that there are many more questions to be answered before this idea is put into action.