DQ: Compensation for an organ donor
Read “Legalizing the Organ Trade?” by Ritter, located on the Time website (copy and paste the link into the URL).
http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1833858,00.html
As noted in Peter Ritter’s (2008), “Legalizing the Organ Trade?”, Singapore’s health minister, Khaw Boon Wan, argued that, “We may be able to find an acceptable way to allow a meaningful compensation for some living, unrelated kidney donors, without breaching ethical principles or hurting the sensitivities of others” (para. 2). In the definition essay assignment, you are asked to select a term, define the term, and offer evidence to support your definition of the term. Peter Ritter’s 2008 article “Legalizing the Organ Trade?” mentions that Singapore’s health minister, Khaw Boon Wan, said, “We may be able to find an acceptable way to allow meaningful compensation for some living, unrelated kidney donors, without breaking ethical principles or hurting the feelings of others” (para. 2). In a definition essay, you are asked to choose a word, explain what it means, and give examples to back up your definition.
Assignment:
In this case, imagine you have selected the term meaningful compensation to define. You might ask yourself: What constitutes meaningful compensation for an organ donor, especially if the donor is poor and the recipient is wealthy? What examples of human organ sales can I find that match or do not match your definition of meaningful compensation? What other terms related to organ sales and donation would be suitable for an argument of definition?
