Biology Is Life !

The World Health Organization estimates that 21,000 liver transplants are carried out annually, but medical experts put annual worldwide demand at at least 90,000.

Paul Lee got his liver from an executed Chinese prisoner; Karam in Egypt bought a kidney for his sister for $5,300; in Istanbul Hakan is holding out for $30,700 for one of his kidneys.

They are not so unusual: a dire shortage of donated organs in rich countries is sending foreigners to poorer places like China, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Colombia and the Philippines to buy a new lease of life.

Demand for kidneys also exceeds supply, and that has given rise to organ trafficking and a black market for rich people and "transplant tourists" who travel to poor countries to buy body parts from people with few other routes to a better living. A donor in South Africa receives $700 for a kidney while in the United States the fee -- not paid to donors -- is around $30,000.

1. Watch the video.

2. How do you feel about a "reality game show" to obtain organ transplants?

3. Do you think that it should be legal to buy and sell organs like kidneys, liver, and skin?

4. If it were legal, would you buy or sell a kidney? Why or why not?

5. Insert a link that supports your views on the topic.

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