The sale- of human organs

Discussion Under what circumstances would you allow an organ to be removed from your body? Tick the ones you agree with:

a. If I needed a n operation. b. After death, for general medical purposes. c. To donate an organ to a close relative. d. To donate a n organ t o a close friend. e. To help anyone in need. f. To make money. g. Never.

Many people carry an organ donor card, which allows doctors to take parts of their bodies if they are killed. Do you carry one? If not, why not?

/' Donorcard I request that after my death: A. any part of my body may be used for the treatment

of others or B. my kidneys corneas heart lungs liver

pancreas be used for transplantation

Signature.. .............. Date.. ....... In the event of my death, if possible, contact: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tel: . . . . . . . . . I Remember to tell someone close to you that you want to be an organ donor. Their agreement is important it the time ever comes. I

Reading Read this article about debt collection in Japan. Does the same thing happen in other countries?

JAPANESE URGED TO SELL EYES TO PAY DEBTS The phone calls from the debt to small businesses who are Yamazaki, a small business owner in collector got increasingly more experiencing financial difficulties Tokyo and also a recently-threatened threatening. First, the standard and who cannot raise money in other borrower. "Maybe in the western pressure: "You have to come up with ways. Their methods give a whole world this is different." And indeed it the money. Sell your house quickly ... new meaning to the idiomatic is. The United States, for example, sell your clothes and all your expression, "It'll cost you an arm and outnumbers organ donations in Japan belongings if necessary." But then: a leg!" by 20to 1.

a You have don't Aggressive debt collection has Fortunately for Mr Mamoto, he you? Many Our borrowers always been an unpleasant aspect of found the legal help he needed before have One. You can get $281000 for a the business world but this new having to resort to selling off parts of kib~ . You can get s9W for an development has caused outrage. The his body. He filed the first criminal

said the debt On sale of body organs is especially complaint against one of the largest tape recordings of the calls. sensitive in Japan, where people are loan shark companies in Japan, a By this time, the person receiving the often reluctant to even allow the company charging interest rates of 30 calls, Mr Mamoto, a retired donation of an organ after death for to 40 per cent. National television has metalworker, was so frightened that medical purposes. broadcast the recorded telephone when he heard dogs barking, he ''We believe that our bodies are threats repeatedly in an attempt to thought it was debt collectors corning sacred. I would never allow anyone make Japanese citizens aware of the after him, his lawyer said. to take anything away from my bady ruthless world of debt collection. These 'shoko loan' firms lend money - dead or alive," said Mr Hiroshi

Read the text again and answer these questions:

1. In the telephone threats that were made, what did the debt collector say that shows there have been other victims of these threats?

2. H o w did M r Mamoto get proof of these threats? 3. According t o the article, why are there so few organ donors in Japan? 4. Which idiomatic expression in the article means 'very expensive'?

Discussion 1. The debt collector gave prices for certain organs. Where was he possibly getting those figures from? 2. D o you think people w h o object t o organ donation are being selfish?

18 The sale of human organs Taboos and Issues

Language 1 Language 2 Remember this idiomatic expression from the Now put the expressions from the exercise article, meaning that something is very expensive: opposite into the sentences below:

It'll cost you an arm and a leg! Lots of expressions in English have the word 'and' in the middle. For example: salt and pepper. There are two things to know about these expressions:

The order never changes - you never say 'cost a leg and an arm.' The words before and after 'and' are almost always the same word class - 'arm' and 'leg' are both nouns.

Match the words below. The first one has been done for you as an example.

1. sick 2. wait 3. black 4. leaps 5. in this day 6. few 7. 8. think first \ long

a. and age b. and hard c. and far between d. and bounds e. and white f. and foremost

,g. and tired h. and see

Discussion Answer these questions in pairs or small groups:

1. Do you think one day doctors will be shopping for organs on the internet? Is there anything wrong with selling organs?

2. Would you mind having your body cut up for the sake of science after you die? Would you put a limit on what they can take?

3. What would you tell a person who is considering becoming an organ donor? What would you say to encourage or

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. I had to think before I decided to become an organ donor.

2. It's amazing that this is still a controversial issue in this . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3. It's a complicated issue. There's no simple answer. It's not . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4. Maybe some day people will change their attitude towards organ donation - we'll just

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . have to

5. In some countries people who are willing to donate their organs are . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6. These are . . . . . . . . . . . . ethical questions, not medical questions.

7. Finding an organ donor used to be more difficult, but the situation has improved by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. People are of being pushed around by debt collectors.

"This is the worst part of the job - having to clear up after a Rugby International!"

discourage herlhim?

4. How do you feel about using animal organs in human beings? How about using a monkey's heart? Would you like the eyes of a pig?

5. Many people don't have the time or just can't be bothered to get an organ donor card. Some countries want a new system where doctors automatically have permission to take your organs unless you have a card which says that you are not an organ donor. A system like this one could simplify and speed things up at hospitals and save lives. Would you be in favour of a system like this?

Taboos and Issues The sale of human organs 18