Neuroscience
Eight thousand people in the UK are waiting for donated organs to become available; over 90,000 are waiting in the USA. This chronic shortage will continue while pro-donation activists continue to oversimplify the issue by focusing on the idea of organ donation as a ‘gift of life’. So argue Magi Sque and colleagues, who believe greater recognition should be given to the sacrifice made by the relatives of deceased donors, from whom consent is often needed before a donation can proceed.
Sque and her collaborators analysed data collected in the UK and the USA from interviews with the relatives of deceased donors, and from letters written by donors’ families to donor recipients and to the National Donor Family Council.
While it was clear that relatives were motivated by the idea of their loss leading to the chance of life for others, it was also apparent that many struggled to “relinquish guardianship” of their loved one’s body, and to accept the idea of them being operated on. Many found it difficult to overcome the feeling that their deceased relative had already suffered enough.
A particular source of pain and distress came from the situation of ‘neurological death’, in which loved ones’ bodies appeared to still be alive because of a ventilator, even though they had been certified as neurologically dead. “She looked so beautiful, she wasn’t marked in anyway, can’t cut these eyes out you know, that’s how I sort of visualised it then”, one father said.
The researchers concluded: “Although the gift of life discourse may remain useful for heightening public awareness about the benefits of donation, this is not an adequate framework for understanding what is important for the family at the bedside faced with a donation decision…Such decisions are more closely related to sacrifice”.
_________________________________
Sque, M., Payne, S. & Clark, J.M. (2006). Gift of life or sacrifice?: key discourses for understanding of organ donors’ decision-making by families. Mortality, 11, 117-132.
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
Link to UK Transplant, where you can add your name to the organ donor register.
- Our Xmas Special: Gift Psychology And Psychology Gifts
Psychology-themed gifts: Inception DVD - Jungian symbolism, action adventure and Leonardo DiCaprio! A subscription to Scientific American Mind magazine. "I'm statistically significant" and other stats-themed t-shirts. Memento DVD - the best...
- Nudging People Towards The Right Decisions
Time magazine has a review of a new book from the behavioural economist Richard Thaler and his colleague, the legal scholar Cass Sunstein, called Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness. This is the latest in a spate of books which...
- The Woman Who Mistook Her Daughters For Her Sisters
Researchers have reported the strange case of a woman who confused her daughters for her sisters and her husband for her deceased father. It appears to be an unusual form of 'delusional misidentification syndrome', of which Capgras syndrome, in...
- They Didn't Even Say Thank You
You sacrificed your Saturday afternoon, you faced the high-street crowds, but after unwrapping the present you so generously bought for them, they didn’t even say thank you. According to Catherine Roster of the University of New Mexico, when it comes...
- Help Children In Need! Sign Up For The Terpthon Dance Marathon On Saturday, March 8th!
TerpThon Dance Marathon Saturday, March 8th Sign up to dance or make a donation today! Terp Thon is a student organization that works year-round to raise money and awareness for Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C while instilling...
Neuroscience
Recognising the sacrifice of organ donation
Eight thousand people in the UK are waiting for donated organs to become available; over 90,000 are waiting in the USA. This chronic shortage will continue while pro-donation activists continue to oversimplify the issue by focusing on the idea of organ donation as a ‘gift of life’. So argue Magi Sque and colleagues, who believe greater recognition should be given to the sacrifice made by the relatives of deceased donors, from whom consent is often needed before a donation can proceed.Sque and her collaborators analysed data collected in the UK and the USA from interviews with the relatives of deceased donors, and from letters written by donors’ families to donor recipients and to the National Donor Family Council.
While it was clear that relatives were motivated by the idea of their loss leading to the chance of life for others, it was also apparent that many struggled to “relinquish guardianship” of their loved one’s body, and to accept the idea of them being operated on. Many found it difficult to overcome the feeling that their deceased relative had already suffered enough.
A particular source of pain and distress came from the situation of ‘neurological death’, in which loved ones’ bodies appeared to still be alive because of a ventilator, even though they had been certified as neurologically dead. “She looked so beautiful, she wasn’t marked in anyway, can’t cut these eyes out you know, that’s how I sort of visualised it then”, one father said.
The researchers concluded: “Although the gift of life discourse may remain useful for heightening public awareness about the benefits of donation, this is not an adequate framework for understanding what is important for the family at the bedside faced with a donation decision…Such decisions are more closely related to sacrifice”.
_________________________________
Sque, M., Payne, S. & Clark, J.M. (2006). Gift of life or sacrifice?: key discourses for understanding of organ donors’ decision-making by families. Mortality, 11, 117-132.
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
Link to UK Transplant, where you can add your name to the organ donor register.
- Our Xmas Special: Gift Psychology And Psychology Gifts
Psychology-themed gifts: Inception DVD - Jungian symbolism, action adventure and Leonardo DiCaprio! A subscription to Scientific American Mind magazine. "I'm statistically significant" and other stats-themed t-shirts. Memento DVD - the best...
- Nudging People Towards The Right Decisions
Time magazine has a review of a new book from the behavioural economist Richard Thaler and his colleague, the legal scholar Cass Sunstein, called Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness. This is the latest in a spate of books which...
- The Woman Who Mistook Her Daughters For Her Sisters
Researchers have reported the strange case of a woman who confused her daughters for her sisters and her husband for her deceased father. It appears to be an unusual form of 'delusional misidentification syndrome', of which Capgras syndrome, in...
- They Didn't Even Say Thank You
You sacrificed your Saturday afternoon, you faced the high-street crowds, but after unwrapping the present you so generously bought for them, they didn’t even say thank you. According to Catherine Roster of the University of New Mexico, when it comes...
- Help Children In Need! Sign Up For The Terpthon Dance Marathon On Saturday, March 8th!
TerpThon Dance Marathon Saturday, March 8th Sign up to dance or make a donation today! Terp Thon is a student organization that works year-round to raise money and awareness for Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C while instilling...