If prices were reasonable, would you sell your kidney to a person struggling between life and death? Receiving a kidney from a donor is legal in almost all countries, however it is not legal to purchase one for transplant. We can live perfectly well and healthy with just one kidney, but if both kidneys fail, that's when a transplant or dialysis is needed. Located under the rib cage and on each side of the spine, the kidneys are two fist-sized organs that are an essential part of the urinary system. The kidneys are responsible for purifying the blood by removing waste products and expelling them through urine. By eliminating any excess, the kidney also helps control fluid and ion levels in the body. They also help produce red blood cells. Application of Science What are the consequences of living without healthy kidneys? Although kidneys are designed to last a lifetime, there are still some factors that can damage them over time. Kidney failure occurs when the kidney does not work as it should. It can be caused by many reasons. One of the most common reasons that cause the development of kidney failure is due to diabetes and hypertension. It can also be caused by blockage of the arteries responsible for carrying blood to the kidneys, called renal artery stenosis. Immune system diseases can also cause kidney failure, as they do not recognize the kidney as their own and attack it thinking it is a foreign object. (When is a kidney transplant needed, 2013) 44% of kidney failure cases are caused by diabetes, and nearly 24 million people in the United States have diabetes. (Kidney Disease of Diabetes, 2013) When the kidney fails, that's when a transplant or dialysis is...not half the story...to sell it to them just for money reasons. There are currently 96,645 people on the kidney transplant waiting list in the United States. Last year, 16,812 kidney transplants were performed in the United States, including 11,043 from deceased donors and 5,769 from living donors. However, 4,903 people died while waiting for a transplant last year. (The National Kidney Foundation, 2013) If kidney transplantation is legalized, more people will be able to buy and sell kidneys, so this will reduce the risk of dying while waiting for a kidney transplant from a donor. Kidney trading should not be legal - Ethically kidney trading should Not be legal - Culturally Organ donation in Japan is quite rare because Shinto traditions say that the body, once dead, is impure. Tradition also says that damaging a corpse will bring bad luck to the person who does it. Reference