Premium
Social media and organ donation: Ethically navigating the next frontier
Author(s) -
Henderson M. L.,
Clayville K. A.,
Fisher J. S.,
Kuntz K. K.,
Mysel H.,
Purnell T. S.,
Schaffer R. L.,
Sherman L. A.,
Willock E. P.,
Gordon E. J.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
american journal of transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.89
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1600-6143
pISSN - 1600-6135
DOI - 10.1111/ajt.14444
Subject(s) - organ donation , medicine , social media , confidentiality , public relations , autonomy , transplantation , coercion (linguistics) , informed consent , political science , law , surgery , linguistics , philosophy , alternative medicine , pathology
As the organ shortage continues to grow, the creation of social media communities by transplant hospitals and the public is rapidly expanding to increase the number of living donors. Social media communities are arranged in myriad ways and without standardization, raising concerns about transplant candidates’ and potential donors’ autonomy and quality of care. Social media communities magnify and modify extant ethical issues in deceased and living donation related to privacy, confidentiality, professionalism, and informed consent, and increase the potential for undue influence and coercion for potential donors and transplant candidates. Currently, no national ethical guidelines have been developed in the United States regarding the use of social media to foster organ transplantation. We provide an ethical framework to guide transplant stakeholders in using social media for public and patient communication about transplantation and living donation, and offer recommendations for transplant clinical practice and future research.