Doctors, is there any
topic that can make them squirm? Turns out there is. “So, would you consider
becoming an organ donor?” Brace for impact. There’s a new uncomfortable talk
lurking in your future, and it’s not about sex, it’s about organ donation.
Here’s what I don’t understand, suspicious rashes, piercings gone wrong and
other peculiar maladies are all OK, but let’s talk about your healthy organs? Apparently,
not cool. So, why is that?
It’s because when it
comes to organ donation, race and religion matter. These issues are why there’s
such a large gap in communication between religious people’s and the medical
community. Physicians are becoming more and more anxious about asking people
about their donation plans because those of strong religious views are
resistant to discuss it, they believe it is against their beliefs or will
conflict with their burial services. In Turkey 21% of doctors listed their
patient’s religious concerns as a reason for not being more proactive about
organ donation. Despite Canada being a vastly multicultural society, ethnic
minorities are still severely underrepresented in our donor pools.
Let me throw some fast
facts out there, and keep these in mind when reading the rest of this article;
1 in 10 organ transplants are conducted illegally, a person of mixed race is
half as likely to find a donor as a person of primarily one race, the chances
of finding a donor with your family are 1 in 4, no religion specifically prohibits
organ donation, Hispanic American’s are 10 times more likely to need an organ
and approximately 1 in 5 people will need blood or an organ transplant. Take a
minute and look around the room that you’re reading this in, who’s in it?
Family? Friends? If there’s more than four, one of them is likely to need an
organ.
A study
I recently conducted at King’s University College showed that students who are
more religious are less likely to donate their organs than those who are not.
Two voluntary surveys were handed out, one about organ donation acceptability
and the other about the strength of their religious views. No one over the age of
29 participated, generation Y doesn’t want to give it up! Specifically it was
men what showed this relationship. These are young people receiving a
University education, however on the questionnaire when asked if they would
donate an organ after their death to their brother, they said no. In University
we are constantly bombarded with technology, taught to analyse things
critically and inspired to give back. King’s is an institution that provides
humanitarian and religious studies to those seeking them. Those in social work,
social justice and peace and other humanitarian studies are uncomfortable with the
idea of organ donation! Now, no research has shown that this relationship is
causal, we cannot say if one causes the other, but they sure are related.
Thinking back to the fast facts, let’s discuss how no specific religion
prohibits organ donation. Surprised? I was. Think about this, organ
transplantation is modern invention and sacred religious texts….not so modern.
So no religious texts have specific aspects relating to organ donation, but
it’s reading between the lines where people get their ideas about it. In many religions
there’s a lot of discussion about post mortem body integrity, that means you
leave with what you came with. However, every religion also places high value
on saving a life and helping others, many specifically state that saving a life
is a get out of hell free card. Many religions formally advocate for organ
donation as well, in fact a religious ruling was passed in 1996 by the UK
Muslim Law Council that “organ transplantation is entirely in keeping with
Islam”.
Previous
research has shown that religious people are also highly misinformed about
organ donation, concerns about organ allocation, body mutilation and time lags
in burial are chief among them. There are many easy solutions to this problem,
because people die waiting for organs every day. Have a talk with your parents,
you doctor and your siblings. I know it’s scary to imagine donating your
mother’s organs, and that donating them will mean she’s not around anymore. Let
me stress, organ donation is a highly personal choice, but like all heavy
choices knowing all your options and outcomes are key. You can choose to give particular
organs and keep others or you can give only one or all. But knowledge comes
from resources, and you have them; your family doctor, your provincial
healthcare provider and your community faith leaders. I can’t tell you to sign
your donor card right now, but I can say have a conversation about it, because the
time to talk about organ donation isn’t when it’s happening, it’s now.
Pavlina Faltynek
Faltynek, P. (2013) Religiosity and its relationship
to organ donation acceptability. Western
Undergraduate Psychology Journal, 1, 114-122.
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