密歇根新闻广播 密歇根大学教授受邀至梵蒂冈反对器官交易

They're called "transplant tourists." In need of an organ transplant but lacking a donor¹, they travel to countries where human organs are available for purchase on the black market. The organs they buy are harvested from the poorest of the poor, those who are most desperate for money. Often, after the organs are taken, the promised payments are never made.

Monir Moniruzzaman is an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology² at Michigan State University. He's studied the sales of organs by people trapped in extreme poverty and was invited to the Vatican to participate in a summit on organ trafficking.

Moniruzzaman told us the problem started in 1971 with the development of the drug cyclosporine, which prevents organ rejection³. Since then, in the United States and other countries, the number of organs legally donated has fallen far short of the increased demand.

"There is a big waiting list, often it is five years or so," Moniruzzaman said. "So to bypass this waiting list, some of the recipients⁴, they are going overseas and they are having the transplantation done in those countries. So that’s why the black market is flourishing, for the last three decades or so."

Advances in medical science have only worsened the issue, as more organs have become transplantable. Originally the black market consisted only of kidneys. More recently, liver lobes⁵ have become available. Moniruzzaman described one case in which a poor woman wanted to sell one of her corneas.

While selling organs is illegal in nearly every country on Earth, limiting the black market can be difficult, especially when most buyers come from abroad. 

Moniruzzaman explained one way of dealing⁶ with the problem that doesn’t require any legal intervention⁷: simply increase the number of legal donors⁸. Spain, for instance, has a "presumed consent" system where those who don’t want to be donors must opt⁹ out. That leads to higher levels of organ donation than in countries like the U.S., which has an opt-in system.

Misconceptions and fears about organ donation also limit the number of donors.

During his visit to the Vatican, Moniruzzaman hopes to enlist¹⁰ the help of the Pope to increase the level of donation in the U.S. and around the world.

"If Pope Francis calls for organ donation, more and more people will step forward, which will reduce the black market for organ trafficking," he said.

Listen to our full interview with Monir Moniruzzaman, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University, above.

1 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

2 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。

3 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

4 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 lobes   

n.耳垂( lobe的名词复数 )；（器官的）叶；肺叶；脑叶

参考例句：

• The rotor has recesses in its three faces between the lobes. 转子在其凸角之间的三个面上有凹槽。 来自辞典例句
• The chalazal parts of the endosperm containing free nuclei forms several lobes. 包含游离核的合点端胚乳部分形成几个裂片。 来自辞典例句

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

8 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

10 enlist   

vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍

参考例句：

• They come here to enlist men for the army.他们来这儿是为了召兵。
• The conference will make further efforts to enlist the support of the international community for their just struggle. 会议必将进一步动员国际社会，支持他们的正义斗争。