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The beauty of the gift: the wonder of living organ donation
Author(s) -
Spital Aaron,
Jacobs Cheryl L
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
clinical transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.918
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1399-0012
pISSN - 0902-0063
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-0012.2007.00746.x
Subject(s) - organ donation , donation , indictment , medicine , wonder , beauty , transplantation , law , surgery , social psychology , psychology , political science
In a recent opinion piece, Nancy Scheper‐Hughes provides a sweeping indictment of living organ donation, even in cases where the gift is directed to a close family member. She describes the process with caustic powerful phrases such as “sacrificial violence” and a “call to ‘self‐sacrifice.’” She concludes that living organ donation “should be consigned to a back seat as an exceptional back‐up to deceased donation.” But her conclusions are based on anecdotes and data that are not representative of donor practice and motivation in the United States and other developed countries. At reputable transplant centers great care is taken to identify genuine volunteers and to protect their interests. Under these circumstances living organ donation remains a generally safe and beneficial procedure for the donor as well as the recipient, and a wonderful example of the goodness of people.