VOA常速英语2007年-Transplant Doctor Argues in Favor of Kidney Sal

By Carol Pearson
Washington, D.C.
26 November 2007
 

Kidney sales are legal in Iran, and they take place in other countries where they are technically¹ against the law.  Now, a prominent American surgeon advocates making kidney sales legal in the United States.  VOA's Carol Pearson has more.

Dominick Lawson is two years old.  He was born with defective² kidneys.  So every 48 hours his mother, Kelly Lawson, brings him to the hospital for kidney dialysis. "As long as I'm sitting here, I'll search the globe to try to find him a kidney,” she says, holding back tears.

Dominick is on a waiting list for a donated kidney, but the average wait is so long that many people die while they are on the waiting list.  Some doctors say a drastic remedy is required. 

Dr. Arthur Matas is a former president of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons. He says, "It sounds like the wrong thing to do, to be buying kidneys, until you start realizing that unless we do something dramatic, we're going to have a continuation of this situation where patients are dying on dialysis and their quality of life is worse."

But the U.S. government and major medical organizations, including the National Kidney Foundation, are against the sale of kidneys. Another prominent surgeon, Dr. Gabriel Danovitch, explains. "If kidney sales were allowed in the United States, the sellers would be the most vulnerable among us, who would probably be desperate for money, who may be willing not to tell the truth about their medical histories or the donated kidney."

One thing transplant surgeons agree on is the need.  Dr. Dorey Segev works at the Johns Hopkins University Medical Center. "More and more people are developing kidney failure and more and more people are becoming candidates for a transplant," says the doctor.

Dr. Matas says the federal government should regulate the sales and require sellers to get complete physical and psychological evaluations³ before any procedure, and then, get follow up care afterwards.  He argues it is legal to buy and sell human blood, eggs and sperm⁴ in the U.S., so why not include kidneys?

By his calculations, a kidney transplant saves the expense of dialysis and long-term medical costs. "The only way that we will know whether or not such a system will work is to try a pilot project," proposes Dr. Matas.

Right now there is little support to change the law and make kidney sales legal in the U.S., but Dr. Matas keeps pushing for continued discussion and research that might save thousands of lives.

1 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

2 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。

3 evaluations   

估价( evaluation的名词复数 )； 赋值； 估计价值； [医学]诊断

参考例句：

• In fact, our moral evaluations are merely expressions of our desires. 事实上，我们的道德评价只是我们欲望的表达形式。 来自哲学部分
• Properly speaking, however, these evaluations and insights are not within the concept of official notice. 但准确地讲，这些评估和深远见识并未包括在官方通知概念里。

4 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。