thesis statement of organ donation

Organ donation in the US is broken, and we know who is to blame

Researchers can identify the weakest link in transplantation, but organ procurement organizations resist change, hannah seo • january 15, 2020.

25,000 additional U.S. lives could be saved yearly by reducing the number of unused organs, one report suggests. [Credit: Pan American Health Organization , flickr | CC]

A clinic on wheels for the homeless, natalie peretsman • february 16, 2009, fecal transplants: the scoop on therapeutic poop, rachel nuwer • november 15, 2011, more bugs, healthier people, joanna klein • december 1, 2014, healing the unborn, jeanette ferrara • february 22, 2016.

While out for a routine jog, Rick collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. He had an undiagnosed genetic heart disease and needed a transplant as soon as possible. He would not receive one for five, long, suspenseful years. 

Rick was fortunate — he survived his time on the waiting list — but so many others do not. The United States is facing an organ shortage. According to U.S. Government Information on Organ Donation and Transplantation , an average of 20 people die each day waiting for a transplant, and yet another person is added to the wait list every 10 minutes. 

While no one is denying the multifaceted nature of the issue, researchers and clinicians alike point to one obvious weak link: organ procurement organizations. OPOs are the first agents to act when an organ becomes available. They are responsible for encouraging donation by talking to individuals and the families of the recently deceased, and carrying out the surgical procedures for procurement in all eligible cases. 

Today, Rick’s son, Greg Segal , is the founder of a non-profit, ORGANIZE , focused on reforming the organ donation system. He sees OPOs and their underperformance as a bottleneck that limits organ availability. “The solution is holding OPOs accountable,” Segal says. Right now, “there’s no pressure on OPOs to figure out how to improve their performance. OPOs are evaluated entirely on self-interpreted and self-reported data, there’s gross under-performance across the OPO industry and huge variability in performance.”

There are 58 OPOs in the United States, each with their own donor service area. Every organ utilized for transplantation in the United States can be traced back to an OPO, says Segal. Unfortunately, these organizations operate as monopolies in their donor service areas, with very little transparency, he adds. 

OPOs are resistant to the levels of scrutiny placed on other parts of the organ donation system, like transplant centers and hospitals, says Brianna Doby , an OPO community consultant for Johns Hopkins University. She believes this opacity undoubtedly hinders improvement and change. “There are so many OPOs who claim that they’re doing perfect work,” Doby says, but when you assess wait lists and death rates, that is clearly not the case. 

There is currently huge variability in OPO performance and very few consequences for underperformance. According to a report by the Bridgespan Group, a non-profit consulting organization based in Boston, “there are approximately 28,000 additional available organs each year from deceased donors that are not procured or transplanted due to breakdowns of the current system.” The report says that this could equate to about 25,000 additional lives that could be saved yearly. 

“Nobody is currently incentivized to optimize organ donations,” says Dorry Segev , a professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins, in an email. OPOs are evaluated by the United Network of Organ Sharing via two metrics: the number of organs they procure from a donor and organs procured per eligible death. These metrics, Segev writes, encourage subpar performance: “With the current regulatory metrics, OPOs may not be incentivized to recover organs from older, sicker, more complex potential donors.” 

Segev suspects that some OPOs are prioritizing their organs-procured-per-donor rate, ignoring potential donors where only one organ can be procured, and preventing the possibility of using that one additional organ to save a life. Segev says such a case shows that reforming the metrics used to measure OPO “success” is key to reforming the organ donation system as a whole. Segev is sure that standardizing accountability across organ procurement organizations and eliminating negligent practices will result in tangible, visible, immediate change. 

Raymond Lynch , an assistant professor of surgery at Emory University, calculated how many more donors and organs we could expect if lower performing organizations improved their rates of procurement. He found that if the bottom half of OPOs raised their procurement rates to match the average performers, and the top half of OPOs did not change in performance, we could expect 941 extra donors and 2,719 additional organs annually. This relatively conservative change could lead to so many more lives saved. Unfortunately, says Lynch, exact interventions to bring about this change will be hard to implement without complete transparency from OPOs. 

Understanding each OPO’s methods and numbers, and standardizing the industry to transparent and objective measures, is crucial, says Lynch. “We need to understand each of the OPO’s processes, even if it does not paint a flattering picture, because only when we have transparency and understanding can we start to formulate appropriate interventions.” She adds that if OPOs did as good a job of improving their performance as they did defending it, we wouldn’t be in this situation.

The Association of Organ Procurement Organization declined to comment for this article, but their website states that “All OPOs are regulated by multiple government agencies and adhere to the highest medical and ethical standards.” 

A researcher who requested their name be omitted from this article begs to differ. They say that “stating OPOs are highly regulated is inherently true and inherently meaningless;” since there is no centralized regulatory body, all current regulations are effectively “toothless.” “We’ve allowed ourselves to be told that organ procurement is so complicated that nobody outside the community could understand, let alone regulate it,” they say, “and this mysticism is somehow allowed to justify rampant deregulation.” 

In spite of all this, Doby is optimistic that reformation will come. In July, the current administration released an executive order outlining intentions for increased regulations and transparency in OPOs and transplant centers. Nevertheless, she says, an executive order is just a first step — robust policy that standardizes OPO practice at the legislative level needs to be set in place.

Doby hopes that we reach a place where we can insist upon utilizing every organ for transplantation. Hopefully, we will soon see good, enforceable new regulations cross the finish line, she says, because that is what’s going to help patients the most.

About the Author

Hannah Seo is a science journalist based in New York City and the editor-in-chief of Scienceline. She loves writing about the intersections of science, tech and culture. As an ethnically Korean Canadian raised in Qatar, she also considers herself an international nomad.

I am grateful that Mr. Segal received his heart transplant through the generosity of a donor and the work of those of us in the donation field. That’s the kind of success story organ procurement organizations are working hard every day to help achieve. The article correctly states that there are still far too many people in need of life-saving transplants and that more needs to be done. The OPO where I work readily accepts this challenge, as do colleagues across the nation.

However, the article omitted several crucial facts. These facts do not negate the need to do more – we must, and we will – but they provide a more accurate picture of the current situation: Fact: For the seventh straight year, the United States set a new annual record for the number of lives saved through organ donation and transplantation. Fact: A recent study (“Success of Opt-In Organ Donation Policy in the United States,” JAMA, 2019) showed that the United States has the second best organ donation system in the world, behind only Spain, and that many states exceed Spain’s performance. Fact: The number of people on the organ transplant waiting list – although still too high – has been steadily dropping, due to the generosity of donors and the dedication of OPO staff and transplant hospitals. Fact: The proposed rule for the new government performance metric estimates an additional 5,000 to 6,000 organ transplants a year can be achieved by 2026, a far cry from the notion that there are somehow 28,000 “missing” organs. Fact: Organ procurement organizations have every incentive to save as many lives as possible, despite the couched assertions of critics in this article.

OPOs work hard every single day to save as many lives as possible and to honor the generosity of donors and their families. We welcome transparency, we welcome standardized performance metrics and we welcome innovation that can save and improve even more lives.

Thank you for your excellent article on broken OBOs. I am, like you, a nomad living outside the United States with presently no plans to return. What international organization do you know of that would allow me to register my organs for donation anywhere in the world?

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Human Organ Donation: Causes and Effects

Organ donation, also known as organ transplant is an operation that involves moving organs from an organism, a donor to another organism, a recipient. Organ donation in the United States has helped improve the health of many lives in the last fifty years since its implementation. An organ transplante is required in case one organ fails as a result of an injury or illness. The donor can either be a living person, or a person who died recently. The recently dead donors must have agreed to donate their organs before dying through registration.

Based on the health department in the United States, for every one tissue or organ donor, more than fifty lives are improved thus saving more lives. Moreover, the family of the deceased feel better knowing that goodness resulted from the tragedy, especially if the recipient was a young and deserving person. As a result, the families of the deceased console themselves that a part of their loved one continues living. The advantage of donating organs while still alive is that donors continue living healthy lives as before. This paper will proceed to explore the causes and effects of human organ donation.

Causes of Human Organ Donation

Most people require an organ transplant by reason of certain genetic conditions like heart defect, polycystic kidney disease and cystic fibrosis. Additionally, infections like hepatitis, damage as a result of chronic diseases, and physical injuries on certain organs might also cause a person to require a transplant. Twenty people on average in the United States die as they wait for an organ transplant every day (Park et al., 2022). Receiving an organ leads to an improvement in quality of life. For example, by curbing the possibility of dialysis or restoring sight with a transplant of cornea. Since individuals needing transplants often suffer from critical diseases, they might get very sick before the transplant. Transplantation begins by a doctor putting a candidate on the list of organ transplants. The position in the list is based on several components such as the severity of the sickness. This process also necessitates a doctor to check the person, identify a critical medical state, and conclude that they are convenient candidates for an organ transplant. However, organ transplant is a very obscure process since it necessitates that there is a close similarity between the donor and recipient. For instance, the recipient of the organ must have a blood type that matches with that of the donor. Other factors may also be relevant depending on the organ involved. For example, individuals receiving a kidney as well as their donors must have compatible antibodies same body sizes.

When an individual reaches at the top of the organ waiting list, he or she receives an organ transplant immediately a match donor is available. Once the organ is available, the organ receiver is required to respond as quickly as possible to the call from their doctor. Many people believe that once a donor registers for donation but dies before the transplant, the recipient has to get another donor. However, this is not the case as Donate Life has an obligation to ask the next of kin to support the decision of the deceased to donate (Thomann, 2018). The importance of registration is that it makes it easier for the next of kin, knowing that the deceased had already decided on donation.

Thereafter, surgery is done within a short while after this call since organs cannot pull through for long after removal from the body. Following the transplantation process, the recipient is required to remain hospitalized for at least a few days for close monitoring from doctors. The duration of hospital stay depends on certain factors such as, the successfulness of the surgery, and the general health of the recipient. Some of these organ recipients often get sick, and in some cases become severely sick. It is therefore important for the recipients to seek medical attention in case of any infection signs that mostly include fever. Additionally, recipients are provided with anti-rejection medicines and other varieties of medications to aid in their long term well-being. These medications are important in preventing rejection of organs by strenthening the immune system of the recipient. Generally, genetic defects, infections, damage and injuries to human organs are the common causes of human organ donation.

Effects of Human Organ Donation

Effects of organ donation can either be positive or negative. Positive effects to a recipient include improvement in the quality of life, increased lifespan, better results, shorter waiting time. For kidney and liver patients, organs functions immediately after transplantation. Under quality of life, organ transplant improves the life quality of the organ transplant candidates by permitting them to return to their usual activities. Therefore, they get to spend more time with their families, and also go after their dreams more fully. In addition, kidney transplantation greatly improves the life span of the recipient by approximately ten years. People who undergo kidney transplants do not go through a regular dialysis or experience the complexities of kidney dialysis which include, vomiting, itchy skin, low blood pressure and nausea.

Considering a reduced waiting time effect, owing to the limited number of organs accessible for transplant, candidates on the national waiting transplant list undergo long waits. These waits which occasionally sum up to years before they get an organ from a deceased donor. However, organ candidates who get a living donor are immediately removed from the list. The advantage of having a living donor is that they removes the patient from the waiting list thus giving other patients who cannot easily get a donor a better opportunity of receiving one.

Studies prove that recipients achieve better results in general when their organs come from living donors as opposed to those that wait for deceased donors (Raza et al., 2020). This assertion is because living donors experience higher longevity compared to deceased donors. In order to maximize the possibility of better results after the transplant, both the living donor and recipient must have genetic matches. Moreover, a liver or kidney that comes from a living person functions immediately after a successful transplantation. In some cases, though uncommon, kidneys transplanted from deceased donors do not function instantly leaving the patient to need dialysis before the new kidney begins to function.

Effects on the doctor performing the organ transplant are mostly mostly positive. One such effect is a positive emotional experience, that is the experience of giving the gift of an organ to a person in need. Secondly, the doctor gets more time to spend with a loved one if the recipient is his or her relative. For both the living donor and recipient, organ donation provides them with a flexible time frame, since the surgery is scheduled at a convenient time for both recipient and donor. A transplant impact is usually so conspicuous since most recipients appear healthier once they leave the emergency room.

Human organ donation has no effect on the life expectancy of the donor. Even after recovering from surgery, most donors continue living active, and healthy lives. Kidney donors take a usual recovery time of between two to six weeks before resuming to their normal working lives. However, for liver donors, they require a two-months rest at minimum to resumetheir activities (Dunn et al., 2020). It is however not always the case that the donor remains healthy after surgery. In some cases, the kidney that remains may slightly enlarge since it does the work shared by two kidneys. However, liver transplant is different from kidney as it is able to regain, and regenerate full performance. Contrastively, for pancreas and lungs donors, these organs neither regenerate nor regain. Nevertheles, these pacreas and lung donors rarely experience issues with a reduction in function.

Other risks to a living donor include pain, allergic reactions, blood clots, pneumonia, anaesthesia reactions and injury to adjacent organs during surgery. However, since transplant surgeries are becoming more common in present years, more advanced surgical techniques are used thus minimizing the risks associated with living donation. Effects of organ transplant are different depending on the type of organ, and the health of the donor. For people donating kidneys, there exists only a one percent of risk increase to the donor. Examples of long-term possible risks of kidney donation include hypertension (high blood pressure), hernia and excess concentration on proteins in urine. Compared to kidney donors, liver donors have greater possible long-term risks.

These risks include abdominal bleeding, bile duct narrowing and leakage of bile. It is often thought that kidney and liver transplants do not affect the possibility of the donor to get pregnant. However, this assertion is false as certain researches prove that a significant number of women involved in kidney, or part of a liver donation undergo pre-eclampsia or gestational hypertension during pregnancy (Gong et al., 2021). Many people are afraid to donate organs due to the belief that the out-of-pocket expenses are very high for the procedure.

However, the insurance policy of the recipient covers the transplant as well as the transplant-related follow-up. Additionally, the American Transplant Foundation (ATF) in the US provides financial aid to donors in need of lost wages (Elias et al., 2019). Lastly, another effect of organ transplant is that it might limit the donor from pursing certain careers. An example of these professions are military branches, some fire and police departments that do not employ people with only one kidney. It is therefore important for donors to speak with their superiors in case they consider becoming living donors.

In conclusion, donation of organs involves a collaborative, and complex set of interactions among family members, patients the hospital, and the organ procurement organisation. The organ procurement organisation assists in facilitating the distribution, and acquisition of organs. Since the first successful organ transport fifty years ago, thousands of kidney, liver, pancreas heart and other organs in the United States report of improved health, and life extension courtesy of organ transplantation. Additionally, the number of organs increase annually whereby more than 1100 more organs are received than the previous year (Pathak et al., 2019). However, the organ transplant waiting list continues to increase every year by approximately 5000 candidates for transplant.

As organ donation demand surpasses the currently accessible organs, various attempts are ongoing to find out the best way to bridge the organ demand and supply gap. Adding to refinements in hospital protocols, the US government is implementing various proposals that might result to system enhancement, or provision of incentives so that more families or individuals can consent to donation of organs. Lastly, the organ donation system in the US is formed by a series of state and federal regulations, individual hospital policies and private-sector supervision. This system primarily focuses on deceased organ donors whose deaths are governed by neurologic measures.

Dunn, M. A., Rogal, S. S., Duarte‐Rojo, A., & Lai, J. C. (2020). Physical function, physical activity, and quality of life after liver transplantation. Liver Transplantation , 26 (5), 702-708. Web.

Elías, J. J., Lacetera, N., & Macis, M. (2019). Paying for kidneys? A randomized survey and choice experiment. American Economic Review , 109 (8), 2855-2888. Web.

Gong, X., Li, J., Yan, J., Dai, R., Liu, L., Chen, P., & Chen, X. (2021). Pregnancy outcomes in female patients exposed to cyclosporin‐based versus tacrolimus‐based immunosuppressive regimens after liver/kidney transplantation: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics , 46 (3), 744-753. Web.

Park, C., Jones, M., Kaplan, S., Koller, F. L., Wilder, J. M., Boulware, L. E., & McElroy, L. M. (2022). A scoping review of inequities in access to organ transplant in the United States. International Journal for Equity in Health , 21 (1). Web.

Pathak, V., Madhavan, D., Narayanasamy, K., Kumar, S., Ramalingam, V., Sengodagounder, B., & Bodonyi-Kovacs, G. (2019). Low-dose Rituximab and Thymoglobulin induction with steroid-free maintenance immunosuppression and protocol biopsies improves long-term patient and Graft survival after kidney transplantation: Survival and safety outcomes in more than 1100 patients from a single center. Transplantation Direct , 5 (8), e475. Web.

Raza, M. H., Aziz, H., Kaur, N., Lo, M., Sher, L., Genyk, Y., & Emamaullee, J. (2020). Global experience and perspective on Anonymous nondirected live donation in living donor liver transplantation. Clinical Transplantation , 34 (4). Web.

Thomann, E. (2018). “Donate your organs, donate life!” explicitness in policy instruments . Policy Sciences , 51 (4), 433-456. Web.

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Medical Practice & Treatment — Organ Donation

Essay Examples on Organ Donation

Brief description of organ donation.

Organ donation is the selfless act of giving one's organs or tissues to help save the lives of others. It plays a crucial role in addressing the shortage of organs for transplantation and has the potential to improve and even save the lives of those in need.

Importance of Writing Essays on This Topic

Essays on organ donation are significant as they provide a platform for individuals to explore the ethical, medical, and societal implications of organ donation. They also encourage critical thinking and awareness of this life-saving practice.

Tips on Choosing a Good Topic

• Consider the ethical implications of organ donation
• Explore the impact of cultural and religious beliefs on organ donation
• Examine the role of public policy in promoting organ donation

Essay Topics

• The ethical considerations of organ donation
• Cultural and religious perspectives on organ donation
• The impact of organ donation on recipient and donor families
• Public policy and organ donation incentives
• The role of social media in promoting organ donation awareness
• Organ donation and the medical community
• Organ trafficking and illegal organ donation
• The future of organ donation and transplantation
• Organ donation and the concept of altruism
• The psychological impact of waiting for an organ transplant
• Organ donation and the concept of brain death
• Organ donation and age restrictions
• The economics of organ donation and transplantation
• Organ donation and the role of family consent
• Reflective essay on personal experiences with organ donation
• Argumentative essay on the need for a change in organ donation policies
• Compare and contrast the organ donation system in different countries
• The impact of organ donation on diverse communities
• The role of education in promoting organ donation awareness
• The importance of organ donation for pediatric patients

Concluding Thought

Exploring the topic of organ donation through essays can lead to a deeper understanding of the ethical, medical, and societal issues surrounding this life-saving practice. Engaging in critical dialogue and exploration of organ donation can contribute to greater awareness and potential solutions for addressing the shortage of organs for transplantation.

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Article Contents

Introduction, materials and methods, supplementary data.

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Factors that influence the decision to be an organ donor: a systematic review of the qualitative literature

• Article contents
• Figures & tables
• Supplementary Data

Michelle J. Irving, Allison Tong, Stephen Jan, Alan Cass, John Rose, Steven Chadban, Richard D. Allen, Jonathan C. Craig, Germaine Wong, Kirsten Howard, Factors that influence the decision to be an organ donor: a systematic review of the qualitative literature, Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation , Volume 27, Issue 6, June 2012, Pages 2526–2533, https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfr683

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Transplantation is the treatment of choice for organ failure, but a worldwide shortage of suitable organs exists. We conducted a systematic review of qualitative studies that explored community attitudes towards living and deceased solid organ donation to inform strategies to improve organ donation rates.

Medline, Embase, PsycINFO and EconLIT were searched. Qualitative studies that explored community attitudes towards living and deceased solid organ donation were included. A thematic synthesis of the results and conclusions reported by primary authors was performed.

Eighteen studies involving 1019 participants were identified. Eight themes emerged. The decision to be an organ donor was influenced by (i) relational ties; (ii) religious beliefs; (iii) cultural influences; (iv) family influences; (v) body integrity; (vi) previous interactions with the health care system—medical mistrust, validity of brain death and fear of early organ retrieval; (vii) the individual’s knowledge about the organ donation process and (viii) major reservations about the process of donation, even in those who support organ donation.

This review of qualitative studies highlights that seemingly intractable factors, such as religion and culture, are often tied in with more complex issues such as a distrust of the medical system, misunderstandings about religious stances and ignorance about the donation process. Intervention that could be considered includes culturally appropriate strategies to engage minority groups, especially through religious or cultural leaders, and more comprehensively available information about the donation process and its positive outcomes.

Transplantation is the treatment of choice for severe organ failure. Despite this, and general recognition of organ donation as a global priority, demand for organs outstrips supply in virtually every country in the world [ 1 ]. Understanding the reasons why people do or do not donate can help inform policies to address this undersupply.

Previous studies have found a number of specific factors that are certainly associated with positive attitudes to organ donation, including education level, socio-economic status and being young [ 2–7 ]. It has also been found that people are more willing to make a living donation to a family member than a donation after death [ 8–11 ], while religious reasons were commonly cited as barriers [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 12 , 13 ].

People beliefs, however, often need to be understood through a broader narrative to uncover the interaction of multiple influences. Qualitative research is able to capture these narratives and their context and therefore helps us better understand the reasons why people hold particular views.

This study aims to synthesize the qualitative research on community attitudes towards living and deceased organ donation and the factors that influence these attitudes.

Study selection

Studies that explored community attitudes towards living and deceased solid organ (heart, lung, liver and kidney) donation using qualitative data through focus groups or interviews were included. Papers were excluded if they focussed on non-solid organ transplantation, were editorials or reviews or discussion papers that did not elicit perspectives from the community.

Literature search

MeSH terms and text words for community (public and population) were combined with terms relating to organ donation. The searches were carried out in Medline, Embase, PsycINFO and EconLIT (See Supplementary Appendix). We also searched reference lists of relevant studies and reviews, dissertation and thesis databases and transplantation journals.

Included studies were examined for study eligibility by both K.H. and M.J.I.

Comprehensiveness of reporting

There is no universally accepted quality appraisal tool for qualitative research, therefore two reviewers (M.J.I. and K.H.) independently assessed each study for comprehensiveness of reporting, based broadly on the COREQ framework [ 14 ], and any disagreement was resolved by discussion. The assessment included details about the research team, the study methods, context of the study, analyses and interpretations ( Table 2 ).

Synthesis of findings

We performed a thematic synthesis of the results and conclusions reported by the primary author. We extracted from each paper all text under the headings ‘results/findings’ and ‘conclusion/discussion’. These were entered verbatim into Hyperresearch 2.8.3 (ResearchWare Inc., Randolph, MA) software. For each paper, two authors (M.J.I. and K.H.) independently coded the text and recorded concepts that focussed on (i) participants’ attitude towards organ donation; (ii) the reasons for participants’ beliefs and (iii) the interpretations given of participant perspectives on organ donation. A grounded theory [ 33 ] approach to analysis was used and further developed through negative case analysis [ 34 ]. To achieve a higher level of analytical abstraction, the concepts were examined for similarities, variations and relationships with one another. This informed the development of an analytical schema of themes.

Literature search and study descriptions

Our search yielded 3498 citations. Of these, 3320 were ineligible after title and abstract review. Of the potentially eligible 178 studies, 18 studies involving 1019 respondents were eligible to be included in the review ( Figure 1 ). Fourteen studies explored factors influencing attitudes towards both deceased and live organ donation. Two studies focussed on attitudes to live organ donation only and two studies focussed on deceased donation. Six studies employed focus groups, eight studies used interviews and four studies used both focus groups and interviews.

Search results.

Studies were conducted in the UK, Canada, USA, South Africa, Malta and Australia. Many of the studies included respondents from specific minority groups and focussed on barriers to donation ( Table 1 ).

Qualitative studies on community attitudes to organ donation

Comprehensiveness of reporting of included studies

The comprehensiveness of reporting of the included studies is described in Table 2 . All studies provided respondent quotations, details of sample sizes and a range and depth of insights into attitudes to organ donation. Twelve studies described the setting for data collection.

Comprehensiveness of reporting for included papers

Eight main themes emerged from the synthesis of the studies. These were relational ties, religious beliefs, cultural beliefs, family influence, body integrity, interaction with the health care system, knowledge and information about donation and the significant reservations for the support that many gave for organ donation.

Relational ties

I couldn’t understand anyone who could let their brother or their sister or their mother, father, continue to suffer or even possibly die when it’s within their means to help them. When you love someone that’s what you do. (Respondent) [ 12 ]

Religious beliefs

Our religion says do not waste things; if they [organs] can be utilized and used for the good of other people, then that item should not be thrown away. (Respondent) [ 31 ]

A large number of participants expressed their belief that Islam forbids organ donation, on the basis of statements from the Qur’an and traditional Islamic literature. (Author) [ 15 ]

‘ I don’t want half of my body buried and half to go to heaven. (Male Respondent) [ 19 ] After you die, you may go to another world. If you don’t have an eye, you cannot see. (Respondent) [ 27 ]

Cultural beliefs

Black people in general didn’t like to talk about death and were very private about particular matters. (Author) [ 20 ]

Some cultures believed that the spirit transferred from the donor to the recipient and others discussed the need for ancestral approval before donation, so that the remaining family did not lose ancestral protection in the future. Others highlighted the importance of particular rituals to do with the grieving process and that organ donation was seen to interfere in this process [ 26 ]. Some spoke about the change in traditional cultural beliefs over time and how younger generations were deciding to become donors.

Family influence

I personally have no objection but my father does, so I am not sure … . (Respondent, Female, 20) [ 15 ]

Some felt they had to ask permission from family members. Some also felt that a definite decision, from family members regarding donation, would ensure that loved ones were not burdened later with a difficult choice. Some felt that organ donation would interfere with the grieving process for families.

Body integrity

To be honest with you I do care what happens to my body after I die, I may be dead but it’s still my body and I want it to look right and be treated right. (Respondent, Female) [ 30 ] I'd sign, but my wife and children object. The children don't like to see daddy cut up. (Respondent, Male) [ 18 ]

I would not donate my eyes, ever, because of the ceremony prior to cremation when people come to the funeral to see the body. I don’t want to not have any eyes. (Respondent) [ 31 ]

Interaction with the health care system

How fast is the decision made? Are you really dead? Who makes the decision? (Respondent) [ 18 ] . . . They’ll start gutting you up like a deer. (Respondent) [ 29 ]

Sorry to say, but we all think it’s for the whites and not us because whenever we see pictures on TV about people receiving transplants they are always white. So we think we are not part of a culture who needs donors or organs. (Respondent, Female aged 18–30 years, African) [ 19 ]

Level of knowledge and information on organ donation

A number of people expressed concern about the lack of information available concerning organ donation. Over time, ‘urban myths had been translated into what people perceived to be correct information and had subsequently resulted in fears about donation. (Author) [ 19 ]

One study, though, indicated that participants would still choose not to donate even if they had more information about the process, as their belief system did not support donation [ 18 ].

Participants’ reservations despite positive beliefs

Overwhelmingly … people cited the amazing potential of organ donation to help people who are suffering … However, these same people went on to voice serious misgivings about organ donation, especially about institutions and individuals involved with the process of organ donation. (Author) [ 29 ]

Balance of attitudes to organ donation.

We identified eight major themes regarding community attitudes towards organ donation. Many made decisions regarding organ donation based on personal beliefs (religious, cultural, family, social and body integrity), levels of knowledge about organ donation and previous interaction with the health care system. Many maintained positive attitudes to organ donation despite significant reservations about the organ donation process. Resistance to donation tended to be less in the case of living donation for family.

There are some limitations in this study. Although we set out to synthesize community attitudes to organ donation, 13 of the 18 included papers were specifically designed to elicit barriers to organ donation from ethnic or cultural groups with previously known low donation rates. Consequently, the results of this review are perhaps skewed towards the negative influences on the organ donation process.

Previous research tells us that religious beliefs are often associated with being a non-donor [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 12 , 13 ]. In this study, we find that some religious beliefs could also be positive influences and where negative beliefs were present, these often stemmed from uncertainty or misrepresentation of religious edicts. One solution would be for the transplant community to more actively engage religious leaders, especially when it has been reported that, across the major religions, there are very few cases where organ donation can be seen to be inconsistent with religious edicts [ 35 ]. Religious leaders could be made available in hospitals to assist families in making decisions regarding organ donation and potentially debunk misperceptions. Staff members who have a role in approaching families to request consent for donation could also be more effective through awareness programmes and resources about religious concerns.

Similarly, cultural sensitivity to issues such as apprehensiveness to discuss death among certain groups or individuals and the importance to many of death rituals may improve dialogue regarding organ donation. Studies have shown that engaging some minority groups in the health care system and creating a sense of belonging and ownership can improve compliance with health interventions [ 36 ]. As a consequence, efforts should be made to create positive interactions within the health care system, especially for minority groups, to improve donation rates.

Although many qualitative studies have found that higher socio-economic status and education were associated with a stronger willingness to be an organ donor [ 2 , 3 , 5 ], little can be discerned directly from these studies as to the reasons why. However, issues of alienation, as highlighted in relation to ethnic minorities, and of ignorance are likely to be at play. This suggests that programmes to better engage disadvantaged communities particularly through targeted information campaigns would be worth considering. Some of the strong reservations held, even among those with generally positive views towards donation, such as concerns that agreeing to donation would discourage doctors from caring so much about saving their lives in an emergency or that it would result in the premature removal of their organs or indeed prevent them from having an open coffin at their funerals, are examples of very real barriers that can be readily addressed through information.

The organ donation decision is a complex one, based strongly on personal beliefs. There are some factors, such as religious and cultural beliefs, that are seemingly intractable and are often cited as reasons for a refusal to donate. In this review of qualitative studies, it is shown that these have often been found to be tied in with more complex issues such as a distrust of the medical system, misunderstandings about religious stances and ignorance about the donation process. Interventions to better engage the community, including disadvantaged and minority groups, to foster trust and provide information represent promising opportunities of promoting organ donation in the future.

Supplementary Appendix is available online at http://ndt.oxfordjournals.org .

This work was funded by Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant (DP0985187).

Conflict of interest statement . None declared.

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The Concepts and Development of Organ Donation Policy in the United States

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• Wan-Zi Lu 18 &
• J. Michael Millis 19  

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This chapter is a contextual investigation of organ donation in the United States. It first presents empirical data related to the growth of donation rates to contextualize relevant developments before introducing the key legal apparatus, the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA). Part Two details policy and legislation regarding transplantation in the US, covering the justification for and goals of organ donation, the history of relevant regulations, and the passage of NOTA. Part Three focuses on the systems and structures of organ transplantation, illustrating the function of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), the payors’ role in the regulation of transplantation, and the Final Rule guiding principles in organ donation. The last section situates developments in Chicago in this context and outlines the role of the regional OPO, Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network (Gift of Hope).

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Organ donation and transplantation: a multi-stakeholder call to action

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Lu, WZ., Millis, J.M. (2023). The Concepts and Development of Organ Donation Policy in the United States. In: Fan, R. (eds) Incentives and Disincentives in Organ Donation. Philosophy and Medicine, vol 133. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29239-2_5

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The Benefit of Organ Donation

How it works

If there is one thing that everyone in the world can agree on it is the fact that eventually we are all going to die. Death is going to happen to each and every one of us, and the thought of dying is usually very tragic to most people. It is not knowing what is going to happen that can cause the fear of dying in a person or a family. Diseases and tragic accidents are usually the cause for deaths.

However, there are some life- threatening situations that we do have the ability to control. Life is spared for many through organ donation. Organ donation saves hundreds of lives each day; however, there is still a great number of deaths that occur each day as people on an organ transplant waiting list continue to wait. Organ donation can be given by anyone and can save many lives.

Everyone should understand the importance of being an organ donor. No matter where you come from in life you can be a donor. Thousands of individuals die annually within the u.  s. alone awaiting organ transplants. Today the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) reported that 114,621 people need a lifesaving organ. A new person is added to the transplant list every 10 minutes (Data). While only 3 out of 1000 people die in a way that allows for organ donation (Organ). This shows the growing need for more organ donors. The choice that you or your family makes allows a person that is on their way to death the possible gift of life. Although many families suffer when they lose a loved one they can find comfort in the fact that their loss has help someone else survive. Because of organ donation life for many people can go on to live very long and happy lives. It is often hard for someone who has just lost a loved one to make such a choice; however, they should find some comfort that death of their loved one would not be the complete end for them if life could be given to another person.

A statistic from UNOS show that almost 75,145 are on a waiting list for an organ transplant, and that the need for donated organs continues to grow faster than the supply of available organs. Evidence shows that since many families do not consent to their loved one’s organs being donated that is a big factor in the shortage. The refusal typically comes from families that have never discussed the importance of organ donation with their loved one. People don’t usually talk about this because they don’t like to think about someone they love and care about dying. No one likes to speak regarding the “what ifs” of life and death. At some point everyone must come to realize that death and dying is a part of life therefore, discussing with your family ways to prolong life will not only be a benefit to others but may also end up being a benefit to you and your loved one.

More facts regarding organ donation and transplantation need to be available to the public. Some individuals believe that those waiting for transplants are just old people; however, this is not true. A statistic from UNOS showed that 77% of people on the transplant list ae under the age of 65 and 3% are under 18 (Data).  Also 88 lives on average are saved every day from organ donations (Key). This data may persuade individuals and their families to notice the importance of being a donor. the public doesn’t seem to be aware of the various problems associated with organ donation. Organ donors vary from newborns to seniors. There is 25 different organs and tissues that may be donated (Surprising). Important organs are often transported many miles to a recipient in need. Daily about 20 individuals on the list die because an organ wasn’t available to them. One person can save up to 8 lives and enhance the lives of up to thirty others (Data). Because of the donation they received organ recipients can lead full productive lives for years following a transplant.

Losing someone you love will sadly become a devastating reality for all of us at one point. It should be a comforting feeling to know that once death happens we can help give life to another. This should to be enough motivation for any individual to become a donor. There is no better way to chance something so sad into something good. You can give then chance to some to see the person they care about become healthy again, to see their kids or grandchildren grow, or for a baby to grow to be an adult. Becoming a donor would be a present beyond belief for several families, and the possibility for the family of the lost loved one to understand that life for somebody else might be continued thanks to an easy act of becoming a donor and caring for our other people. There are so many people in the world that have this strong will and desire to live. Without more people becoming organ donners that just ca not be possible.

The choice to become an organ donor is straightforward. The primary step is to speak to your family and loved ones regarding organ donation. Any one person can become a donor just by signing a donor card, like your driver’s license and having a witness of the signature; however, more importantly make sure you tell your family about your intentions to be a donor, so they can make sure that your wishes are carried out. Even with a card signed your family must give the consent before your desires are carried out. Once families discuss organ donation and are aware of their loved one’s request to do this, they feel some comfort knowing that the gift of life is being given to someone else. It offers the family some form of comfort knowing that their loved one’s death was not in vain. Being an organ donor has some many rewards for you and your family. You can feel comfort that when its finally your time you can change someone’s life for the better. You can also feel at peace when you lose someone you love knowing that your loss will be someone else’s gain.

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Organ Transplantation and Donation Essay

Political implications of organ transplantation in the us and uk, border security issues in us, transnational public health issues, black market on organ transplant in the us and uk, laws if they negatively or positively affecting organ transplant., works cited.

Organ transplantation has raised a number of issues in many governments and states in the world. This is because the practice involves human lives, and therefore, caution must be taken in order to respect human dignity. In many cases, people have been involved in the exercise out of their knowledge hence calling for governments’ intervention to save the situation. For instance, people have been cheated or enticed with monetary gifts to donate their body organs to other people.

Politics have played key roles in transplantation of body organs both in United States of America and the United Kingdom. Political leaders have come out clearly to defend human rights through creating legislations for the practice (Shibles and Maier 63). This is important as people may be involved in human trafficking in order to kill and extract organs illegally.

Therefore, governments have come up with rules that govern donation and transplantation of organs to safe guard other people. Politicians in these countries have taken advantage of the situation to gather support from people as they advocate for their needs. This means that leaders who support donation of organs seem to care about people’s lives. On the other hand, people love politicians who advocate for the rights of everyone hence considering them for bigger positions in the political arena.

Border security in United States has been contemplated by increase in organ transplantation in various states. This is due to the fact that United States advocates for human rights and dignity hence they prohibit any illegal practice that can be harmful to human beings. Wealthy patients pay a lot of money to get body organs if they fail to get free donations.

This has seen many brokers venture in organ trade whereby they acquire organs from people in developing countries at low prices and take them to hospitals in United States of America for transplantation. This is very inhuman since selfish people take advantage of poverty in some countries to oppress the poor. The government of the United States of America together with law enforcers faces a lot of challenges in combatting the crime within their borders (Shelton and Balint 48).

This means that the business is discouraged although people may succeed to sneak illegal organs into the country through other means. The government has to do everything within its reach to make sure that people do not have transplants from unknown destinations. This can be achieved by involving health practitioners in fighting the crime by making sure that organs are attained in an appropriate manner.

Since people donate organs to others regardless of their locations, nations need to be cautious in order to avoid spread of diseases in the process. There is the issue on spreading of communicable diseases across national borders and this may be fatal to the recipient nation. In addition, people may be faced by gross human trafficking in situations where certain people are known to have specific characteristics desired by patients.

For instance, in some communities tend to have immunity against some conditions due to their lifestyles. This may pose a great danger to citizens as they may be targeted for their healthy organs (Klein, Lewis and Madsen 98). Therefore, governments should work together to make sure that they help in safeguarding health conditions within their states. In addition, they should make sure that people are not exposed to harassment.

Nations should protect donation and transplantation of organs within their personal borders in order to safeguards rights of their neighbors. This is vital because transnational issues may hinder regional developments or even result to war between neighbors. People may develop animosity following issues of extracting organs by force hence demoralizing members of neighboring communities.

Black markets are illegal markets which governments are left out of the business activities. People involved in black markets do not pay taxes to the government and this affects economies as tax free goods find their way to the market. This means that people may opt for cheaper goods hence reducing demand for legal goods hence affecting revenue generation by countries. In United States of America and the United Kingdom, people have taken initiatives in organ trading without following the right procedure set by governments.

People have been able to acquire body organs and stock them in organ banks in various hospitals without paying taxes or following the right medical procedures set by governments (petechuk 76). In fact, organs have been imported from other continents into United States of America and United kingdoms without clearance from the government.

In most cases business people collude with law enforcers and revenue collectors to illegally import human organs into those states. Organ donation is a vital process and governments should not allow illegal practices because it might end up affecting people in a great manner.

Laws set by both the United States of America and United Kingdom aims at ensuring that the activity is safe for humans. For example, there are laws aimed at ensuring that their citizens receive quality organs whenever need for transplants arise (David and Price 98). They achieve this by involving leaders from donor nations to ensure that they monitor the donation process. This includes ensuring that only people with good health records are allowed to donate body organs.

This is important for both the donor and the recipient since they are involved in the transplant directly. This means that donors may end up complicating their health conditions after donating crucial organs. Doctors should be involved in examining donors to advise them on whether to donate an organ or not depending with their body conditions (petechuk 76).

Governments should make sure that medical practitioners do not take part in illegal extraction or transplantation of organs. Laws should be set up by leaders to make sure that medical practitioners involved in illegal organ deals are punished. This will caution doctors and patients from encouraging the illegal business hence helping in combatting crimes against human rights.

Organ transplantation is among the latest development in the field of medicine. Doctors have been able to save people’s lives in the recent past whereby people donate body organs to institutions. However, a lot of activities have emerged involving organ donations leading to situations where people sell their organs. Governments had to intervene to bring sanity in countries as people could risk losing their lives for money.

Regulations have been set up by governments to make sure that donation is guided by moral principles. In addition, qualified personnel have to be involved in advising and extracting organs from donors. Diseases control units have been set up to ensure that diseases are not transmitted through organ transplantation.

David P and Price T. Legal and Ethical Aspects of Organ Transplantation . New Jersey: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print.

Klein, Andrew, Lewis Clive J and Madsen Joren C. Organ Transplantation: A Clinical Guide. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Print.

Petechuk, David. Organ Transplantation . New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006. Print.

Shelton, Wayne N and Balint John. The Ethics Of Organ Transplantation, Volume 7. London: Emerald Group Publishing, 2001. Print.

Shibles, W and Maier Barbara. The Philosophy and Practice of Medicine and Bioethics: A Naturalistic-Humanistic Approach . Michigan: Springer, 2010. Print

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