Body Concept as Barrier to Organ Donation and the Proposed Role of Financial Incentives
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Authors
Gilmet, Kelsey
Issue Date
2003
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
This study explores the role an individual's concept of the body plays in
contributing to opinions about the ethical use of financial incentives to increase organ
donation in the United States. It examines how professional and personal backgrounds
have contributed to differing views of the body among American transplant professionals,
donors/recipients, and laypersons. The author's research is based on current literature in
the fields of anthropology, psychology, economics, and bioethics. Research methods
included semi-structured interviews with individuals both professionally or personally
involved with transplantation, and various observations at Fairview University Hospital
in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Renal Care Group in Oshtemo, Michigan. Opinions on
the use of financial incentives to increase organ donation were found to be based on the
individual's concept of the body, which appears to be largely influenced by professional
training or personal experience with transplantation. Based on research findings, the
dualistic approach to modem medicine in the United States played an important role in
the formation of transplant professionals' opinions, whereas, skepticism and lack of
understanding of the medical field strongly influenced the opinions of the laypersons. All
participants feared a commodification of the body.
Description
vi, 67 p.
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