bib entry

Hazony, O. (1993). Increasing the supply of cadaver organs for transplantation: Recognizing that the real problem is... Health Matrix: Journal of Law Medicine, 3(1), 219.

Hazony's psychological approach to organ donation is a unique approach to the subject. He mentions all the obvious reasons for donation rates being low starting from the legality of organ procurement to the public's general mistrust of the medical institution. He discusses several of the ideas that have been put out there to increase donation rates; campaigns that make an appeal to being an altruistic/selfless person, presumed consent laws, and offering financial compensation to name a few. He offers ideas as to why these ideas are beneficial and how they are flawed. Ultimately, Hazony suggests, none of these ideas will increase donation rates because we fail to recognize what is truly at the root of the problem, psychology. From the medical personnel's uneasy feelings about approaching a family about donating organs to the families own grieving process, it's all psychological undermining that keep organs from being donated. The author recommends that we take a new approach to increasing organ donation by educating medical staff at hospitals and educating the general public about how important organ donation is before they are faced with the choice in a difficult time such as the death of a loved one.
I agree that this is one of the main problems faced with organ donation. Most people believe that given the opportunity to be an organ donor in the event of their death then that would be the choice made. In reality not enough organs are being donated, and a lot of this has to do with the emotions of all parties involved. This article also had some information in it that I hadn't thought of before, like how offering financial compensation could possible decrease organ donation rates because people would feel less motivated because it would no longer be a selfless gift. Sounds a little backwards but the author offers great insight into how this could come about. I found this article very helpful in my research process, and it will be used to branch out into new avenues of research for my paper.