There were about 106 thousand people waiting for organ transplants in 2021, and only 41 thousand transplants took place. Around 65 thousand people died, because they waited too long for their transplants. 

I believe the government should advertise donating organs more than it is now. With more people acknowledging all the good donating organs can be, we could see a lot more Americans getting the transplants they deserve. 

Especially because, according to Organdoner.gov, kidneys are the highest in demand but only 27.78%  of the people who need kidney transplants actually get them. 

Still, even if we have many people offering their organs to help others in life or death situations, the organ recipients would still have to pay a large amount for the transplant.

The average sum for a kidney transplant is 442,500 U.S. dollars. The final decision for a life changing operation shouldn’t be the cost. Many people can not afford this absurd amount of money that they resort to making a GoFundMe page. 

Even so, that might not work. According to a study done by the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), “[From 2016 to 2020] only 12% of campaigns met their goals, and 16% received no donations at all.”

There are many problems regarding organ transplants aside from the lack of donations or cost. Like the fact that there are many hospitals that are harvesting organs without consent, which the government should investigate. Harvesting an organ without explicit consent from the donor or their families is a violation of the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA), enacted 38 years ago. 

Title III-PROHIBITION OF ORGAN PURCHASES states, “(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human organ… Any person who violates subsection (a) shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.” 

I personally find the maximum very low considering that Forced Organ Harvesting “is considered a crime against humanity, as well as a threat to medical science in general.” 

We are in an organ shortage, and have been for decades, but if we tackle organ trafficking in America, we can start encouraging people to donate so that we can save more lives.