Organ donation and transplantation from a sociological perspective

The aim of this study is to understand the reasons for organ donation behavior by examining the perceptions and attitudes of participants with and without transplantation experience towards the body and the organs. Qualitative research method and phenomenological design is used in the study. In-depth interviews were conducted with 31 participants consisting of organ recipients, donors, those who are not willing to donate their organs and health personnels. The findings reveal that the experience of the participants causes differences in their perceptions of organ donation and transplantation. Most of the positive perceptions of the participants with transplant experience about organ donation are formed after their subjective illness experiences. The participants who have had an organ transplant have an expectation of donation from their families and close social environments, however they have concerns about health problems that this process may cause for the donors. Depending on the sick body perception of the society, people who receive organs see themselves and their donors as "half". All of the participants stated that they would volunteer for living organ donation in case their relatives needed. However, there are concerns about organ transplantation from cadavers. Even participants who received a transplant from a cadaver are concerned about the fact that brain death is not real death, their personality is transferred to the recipient, and the cadaver feels pain. Gender is also important in organ donation and transplantation. Women are expected to make sacrifices in organ donation, and even their motherhood and femininity are questioned if they receive organs from their children. For participants with no transplantation experience, religious reasons, lack of trust, privacy concerns, ethical concerns, restriction of freedom, lack of information about the receiver and ignorance have negative effects on the attitude towards organ donation. For the experienced donors, the disintegration of the part/whole relationship in the body, stigmatization and loss of status in the labor market, insufficient medical information and possible negative health outcomes after the operation cause negative perceptions about organ donation and transplantation.