UNOS is the United Network for Organ Sharing. UNOS has created a set of requirements for one to apply for a new organ. UNOS has tried to make the requirements as unbiased as they can be, but wealthy patients have taken things into their own hands to override the system. This leaves lower class people, who need an organ more desperately waiting on the transplant list while others receive the organ. I think it is interesting how there are really no organizations working to combat the issue of a corrupt organ donation system. In my opinion, the criteria should not be based on race, culture, or wealth. A sick poor person needs a new organ as much as a sick wealthy person does.
In order to create a more just organ donation system, we must look to the root source of who facilitates where each organ goes. I believe that it would be more beneficial to have a criteria list that ranks patients solely on their level of illness. Also, patients should only be allowed to register in one area. This would ensure that wealthier people can't travel to wherever they will have the best chance; it will keep everyone's chances equal.
The United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) divided the country into 11 different sections in which organs can be transplanted. The intention was good; to only donate organs to those in a relatively close distance to preserve the organ, but it has become apparent that these regions are not in equal need of organ donation. For example, there is a lower demand for liver transplants in the south than there is in the north. It is hard for lower-class individuals to stay in a region where it is easier to get an organ donation. Also, a new organ can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. "Transplant tourism" is a term used to describe how wealthier people travel abroad for a new organ. Americans who can’t afford to do this, and who live in an organ-starved region, are left to wait—and often die waiting on the waiting list.
