Organ Donation as a Public Relations Issue and Not Just a Health Issue - Essay Example

Name Instructor Course Date Organ Donation is a Public Relations Issue and Not Just a Health Issue Introduction Organ donation is considered possibly the most charitable act ever done by any individual. However, it is the greatest initiative to save lives and reduce the mortality rate in the society. The beauty of the whole organ donation process is that there is no loss incurred by the donor since all they need to do is pledging their organs for donation after their death. The donated organs help in transplantation to many suffering patients in need of such organs. According to research conducted, it has been realized that many lives have been saved at critical stages thanks to the donations. The current rise in technology over the recent past has helped the field of medicine remarkably; more health practitioners have been trained and more information released concerning the organ donation process (Jonsen 1999, p.230). The relationship between organisations dealing with donations and the public at large creates an atmosphere that enables donors to donate organs for the benefit of the ailing patients. Information related to organ donation needs to be conveyed through the right channels by the right individuals who are well informed with up-to-date information regarding organ donation. Public relations steps in and takes the centre stage in such cases to help debunk the myths surrounding the organ donation practice. Some of the myths have had a significant negative impact on the donation process resulting to reduced number of donors, hence the need for professionals to provide the right information to the public (Moloney 2006, p.13). This paper will explore the issue in relation to the belief that in the current contemporary society, organ donation is a public relations issue and not just a health issue. PR definitions Many scholars have given various definitions concerning the meaning of public relations and they differ in one way or the other. One of the widely used definitions by Grunig and Hunt (1984, p.6) has defined public relations as the communication management that exist between any given organisation and all of its stakeholders. However, many scholars have challenged this definition saying it is too ambiguous. On the other hand, other definition that has been embraced has viewed public relations as the organised, thoughtful and sustained effort that aids the establishment and maintenance of mutual understanding amid an organisation and the stakeholders (Moloney 2006, p.11). Moreover, another accepted definition states that public relations is the use of communication to develop and manage ethical policies in building relationships with involved stakeholders (Johnston, Zawawi and Brand, 2009, p.7). The organ donation practice can be termed as a public relation issue more than a health issue in that no matter how many people are ailing in need of well-functioning organs, the public will not donate organs if they do not have the right relationship with organ donation organisations as well as the right information. The relationship between the public and these organisations helps to develop interactions that expose how helpful the donation practice is beneficial to the society, hence exposing how the public can contribute towards the noble course of saving lives. Likewise, there exist myths that scare the public from donation organs since there is insufficient flow of information among the stakeholders involved in the organ donation process. This calls for the public relations departments to reach out to every stakeholder showing them the critical role they play and can play in the saving lives initiative for the well-being of the society. The health issue may not play a significant role in influencing the organ donation process as public relations can do hence more weight should be put in public relations. Health departments should work hand in hand with the public relations departments, convincing the public regarding organ donation from a health perspective may not be fruitful as approaching people by creating relationship through public relations. This is because public relations seek for understanding the parties involved in donation thus creating a bridge between the problem and the solution (Baskin, Aronoff and Lattimore 1997, p.54). Primary publics and secondary publics More so, it is good to identify the primary publics and the secondary publics to realize where to put more emphasis on for better productivity. When a line is drawn amongst all stakeholders in the organ donation activity, approaching the issue in an informed and strategic manner is achievable. The primary publics in this activity are the media and the media, society, employees as well as the government. Firstly, the media plays a critical role when exposing the truth to the public banishing myths and rumours surrounding the issue of interest, in this case the organ donation process. The media has a significant role to play in expounding the objectives of the organ donation issue by citing its importance and how beneficial to the society it is, thus encouraging more donors by shedding off the fear that exists due to the wrong information spread. Secondly, the employees both the public relations employees and the health practitioners are among primary stakeholders since they are directly involved in the process as Moloney (2006, p. 19) alleges. They create and maintain the relationship with the parties involved in the donation activity as well as handling the organ donors and the recipient for maximum benefits. Thirdly, the society also is among the primary stakeholders since it has a combination of the organ donors and recipients and they need to relate with public relations officers and the health practitioners on a first hand basis. Finally, the government is a primary stakeholder given that it bears the mandate of the people. Furthermore, it should act as the only authority to conduct the organ donation process to lock out cartels that may turn it to a business venture complicating the whole organ donation and transplantation process. On the other hand, the secondary stakeholders are investors, activists, professional bodies and other organisations since their contributions to the donation process is minimal and are indirectly or hardly involved in the process. Otherwise, they can have a say at one given time in the future concerning the whole undertaking, either applauding or condemning the process (Baskin et al. 1997, p.33; Newsom et al. 2007, p.25) Ethical issues Moreover, ethical issues in the current society surround the organ donation issues. Since the activity is based on decision made by individuals regarding their organs after they die, some people may have a belief that the health practitioners may take advantage of the situation for their own benefits by introduction of corruption. In addition, it may be viewed that since public relations want to portray the importance role they play in the organ donation process, they may woo the public with sweet words that are exaggerated to winning them to sign the documents and highly influence their decision in donating their organs. Therefore, introducing exaggerated information that is against the ethics of free will and compromises respect due for the donor should be discouraged at all times (Johnston, Zawawi and Brand 2009, p.17). The Medical Associations have agreed that the medical practitioners concerned with the wellbeing of the donor should be different from the transplant practitioners to avoid conflict of interest; transplants should be done after authentication of the death of the donor. Another issues that surrounds transplantation is the idea of performing it between two living beings, ethicists thought that it was unethical since it violated the principle of totality in human beings that expects human beings to have both organs that exists as a pair such as lungs, kidneys and corneas. There exist many ethical issues surrounding the organ donations and ore information needs to be shed on some of the critical issues for effective organ donation process to be realized (Jonsen 1999, p.241). Public relations activities Finally, the public relations staffs in support for the organ donation process undertake many activities such as communication. Since public relations have good communication skills, they help in exposing the truth regarding organ donations that is surrounded by a lot of myths and hearsays. They help the bringing out the whole organ donation process clearly with clarity to all stakeholders to avoid confusion that may arise in case of insufficiency of information; this result to informed decisions being made. The more the public relation department uses the media to communicate about the organ donation activities, it forms a relationship with all the stakeholders hence creating an effective environment where much can be realized such as increased donors, well informed donors and well exposed society on issues regarding organ donations and transplantation. In addition, creation of relationships between all the affected stakeholders in the organ donation is another major activity performed by the public relation staff (Newsom, Turk and Kruckeberg 2007, p.27). These established and maintained relationships help to equip all the stakeholders with the right information to create understanding and improve productivity in the donation process. The strong bond created between all the stakeholders helps lay a platform for mutual understanding between the donors and recipients thus donation is done according to donor’s consent that is in agreement with the recipient. Contrastingly, there are activities that public relation staff may undertake to oppose the organ donation process. First, due to the code of ethics set by public relations associations any activity regarding organ donation that may infringe this code of ethics is highly opposed. The PR staff may be opposed to the spread information that is biased based on myths and violation of human ethics (Moloney 2006, p. 23). If there exists incorrect information about the donation amongst the stakeholders, especially the donors and the health practitioners, public relations staff may intervene and oppose the organ donation process since it is not based on truth and transparency. This is to make sure that there is no manipulation whatsoever and the consent of the donor is followed without any infringement at any case. Furthermore, lobbying is another activity that the public relations staff may undertake to oppose the organ donation process. If the government, medical practitioners or any other related body passes a motion or a discussion over issues that contradict the donation process creating ambiguity, the PR staff can lobby against the motions or discussions for the sake of the society. Since PR acts as the bridge between the stakeholders in organ donation process therefore lobbying may help bring out every issue out with clarity for maximum benefit of the society (Grunig and Hunt. 1984, p.15). Conclusion On the conclusion, the organ donation and transplant process is one of the helpful undertaking that help save lives in the society if the correct information is conveyed to the right stakeholders. Organ donation has been boosted by the rise in technology ranging from training of the medical practitioners to the publicizing the organ donation issue to the public through provision of correct information that discredits the existing myths. All these have helped realize a well-informed society than in the past years hence making the organ donation process effective and efficient for the benefit of the society. Public relations has played a significant role in the whole process and contributed remarkably to the saving of lives initiative. The activities performed by the public relations are all for the benefit of the stakeholders involved hence no biasness to any given stakeholder. Therefore, it is evident that the organ donation issue is a more public relations issue than a health issue. Reference List Baskin O., Aronoff C. and Lattimore. D. 1997. Public relations: The Profession and the practice. 4th ed. Madison, WI: Brown & Benchmark. Grunig, J. E. and T. Hunt. 1984. Managing public relations. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart Johnston J., Zawawi C. and Brand. J. 2009. Public relations: An overview. In Public relations: Theory and practice, 3-25. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. and Winston. Jonsen, Albert R. 1999. Ethical Issues in Organ Transplantation Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, pp 229-252. Moloney, K. 2006. Rethinking public relations. 2nd ed. Abingdon: Routledge. Newsom D., Turk J. V. and Kruckeberg D. 2007. This is PR: The realities of public relations. 9th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. Read More

The organ donation practice can be termed as a public relation issue more than a health issue in that no matter how many people are ailing in need of well-functioning organs, the public will not donate organs if they do not have the right relationship with organ donation organisations as well as the right information. The relationship between the public and these organisations helps to develop interactions that expose how helpful the donation practice is beneficial to the society, hence exposing how the public can contribute towards the noble course of saving lives.

Likewise, there exist myths that scare the public from donation organs since there is insufficient flow of information among the stakeholders involved in the organ donation process. This calls for the public relations departments to reach out to every stakeholder showing them the critical role they play and can play in the saving lives initiative for the well-being of the society. The health issue may not play a significant role in influencing the organ donation process as public relations can do hence more weight should be put in public relations.

Health departments should work hand in hand with the public relations departments, convincing the public regarding organ donation from a health perspective may not be fruitful as approaching people by creating relationship through public relations. This is because public relations seek for understanding the parties involved in donation thus creating a bridge between the problem and the solution (Baskin, Aronoff and Lattimore 1997, p.54). Primary publics and secondary publics More so, it is good to identify the primary publics and the secondary publics to realize where to put more emphasis on for better productivity.

When a line is drawn amongst all stakeholders in the organ donation activity, approaching the issue in an informed and strategic manner is achievable. The primary publics in this activity are the media and the media, society, employees as well as the government. Firstly, the media plays a critical role when exposing the truth to the public banishing myths and rumours surrounding the issue of interest, in this case the organ donation process. The media has a significant role to play in expounding the objectives of the organ donation issue by citing its importance and how beneficial to the society it is, thus encouraging more donors by shedding off the fear that exists due to the wrong information spread.

Secondly, the employees both the public relations employees and the health practitioners are among primary stakeholders since they are directly involved in the process as Moloney (2006, p. 19) alleges. They create and maintain the relationship with the parties involved in the donation activity as well as handling the organ donors and the recipient for maximum benefits. Thirdly, the society also is among the primary stakeholders since it has a combination of the organ donors and recipients and they need to relate with public relations officers and the health practitioners on a first hand basis.

Finally, the government is a primary stakeholder given that it bears the mandate of the people. Furthermore, it should act as the only authority to conduct the organ donation process to lock out cartels that may turn it to a business venture complicating the whole organ donation and transplantation process. On the other hand, the secondary stakeholders are investors, activists, professional bodies and other organisations since their contributions to the donation process is minimal and are indirectly or hardly involved in the process.

Otherwise, they can have a say at one given time in the future concerning the whole undertaking, either applauding or condemning the process (Baskin et al. 1997, p.33; Newsom et al. 2007, p.25) Ethical issues Moreover, ethical issues in the current society surround the organ donation issues. Since the activity is based on decision made by individuals regarding their organs after they die, some people may have a belief that the health practitioners may take advantage of the situation for their own benefits by introduction of corruption.

Read More