Organophosphate poisoning
Organophosphate pesticides are one of the top causes of poisoning worldwide, with an annual incidence of poisonings among agricultural workers varying from 3-10% per country.
Organ donation
Over 121,000 people in need of an organ are on the U.S. government waiting list. This crisis within the United States is growing rapidly because on average there are only 30,000 transplants performed each year. More than 8,000 people die each year from lack of a donor organ, an average of 22 people a day. Between the years 1988 and 2006 the number of transplants doubled, but the number of patients waiting for an organ grew six times as large. It has been estimated that the number of organs donated would double if every person with suitable organs decided to donate. In the past presumed consent was urged to try to decrease the need for organs. The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of 1987 was adopted in several states, and allowed medical examiners to determine if organs and tissues of cadavers could be donated. By the 1980s, several states adopted different laws that allowed only certain tissues or organs to be retrieved and donated, some allowed all, and some did not allow any without consent of the family. In 2006 when the UAGA was revised, the idea of presumed consent was abandoned. In the United States today, organ donation is done only with consent of the family or donator themselves. According to economist Alex Tabarrok, the shortage of organs has increased the use of so-called expanded criteria organs, or organs that used to be considered unsuitable for transplant. Five patients that received kidney transplants at the University of Maryland School of Medicine developed cancerous or benign tumors which had to be removed. The head surgeon, Dr. Michael Phelan, explained that "the ongoing shortage of organs from deceased donors, and the high risk of dying while waiting for a transplant, prompted five donors and recipients to push ahead with the surgery." Several organizations such as the American Kidney Fund are pushing for opt-out organ donation in the United States.