[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

29545: Jonas Alexandre - Reply on 29539: Durban (comment): Following up on Kidneys in Haiti (fwd)





From: Jonas Alexandre <alexanj1@yahoo.com>

Lance Durban wrote "So, what if the Haitian legislature passed legislation legalizing the practice of selling kidneys, subject to strict controls and permitted only in approved facilities in-country? (I can hear Corbetters screaming already)", then in a subsequent 'clarifying' reply also wrote: "before my "reputation on Corbett" becomes "hard to live down" as my friend put it, I think I best back away from this idea (smile)"...

Well, Mr. Durban, not so fast... I've been on this list for the past five + years and problably responded to no more than a couple of outrageous comments over the past five years, I thought I might not let this one go. What were you thinking?! Why even mention/propose such an idea as selling organs? Even if such a law would pass, who's got the most to profit? Not the average Haitian.Who would be the lobbyists? probably those North Americans who could afford the plane ticket to Haiti to have the "quick, safe, economical, and legal transplants" or well-to-do Haitians who could afford them on the spot in these "top notch transplant clinics" ... You tried to redeem yourself in the following statement: "Still, I find that I am not categorically opposed to the practice IF IT WAS SUBJECT TO STRICT OVERSIGHT TO PREVENT ABUSE. And that's the rub that would make is hard to support in today's Haiti. I refer to that Transparency International corruption index with Haiti dead last". What?! Strict Oversight?! that does not exist anywhere. You could have a semblant of it as even in a sophisticated country like USA, still it would be very very hard to have strict oversight on such a program/law of organ selling. Who would set the price? the donor, receiver, the MCOs, the Government through the FDA or Medicare Part D, state legislatures? to name a few. Even the organ donation program has its flaws. I've always wondered as many others did how, in 1993, my late Governor Casey of Pennsylvania received a rare heart-liver transplant so fast while, as you properly stated, the waiting period on transplants in general are very long. In Casey's case, the announcement of the disease was made just days before he underwent the transplant.

Mr. Durban, I am glad though that you raised this interesting subject worth continuing genuinely. Let's change the subject a bit, not back away from it entirely. How about we discuss organ donation in Haiti? I do not know if currrently there exists such a structure in Haiti or how many organ transplants are performed in Haiti? Any statistics on the types performed? Is there a governing body that decide who gets the organs? (I venture to say none), but mabye someone on the list knows. There certainly is a need for organ donation education in the Haitian community, whether in Haiti or in the States. Even in the States, the majority of the Haitians I know (in PA & NY) are not registered organ donors. Though I am not qualified at all to talk on the subject, any time it is raised I encourage family members, fellow church members or co-workers to register since the state of Pennsylvania makes it easier by doing so on your driver's license registration. Maybe such a system could be worth discussing with Haitian legislators by those who have access to them or by the Haitian medical community or Haitian medical associations such as Association Haitienne des Maladies Renales; Association Medicale Haitienne (AMH); Association des Medecins de Petion Ville (AMPV); Association de Sante Publique D'Haiti (ASPHA) or Association de Medecins Haitiens a L'Etranger, to cite those few I know. Is anyone on the list a member of them or knows anyone who is a member of them who could shed some light? May the discussion continue, Mr. Durban. Your intentions were honorable I am certain, you started a good one.

Jonas Alexandre
Philadelphia, PA