Psychological Effects of Organ Donation on the Organ Donor - Dissertation Example

Psychological Effects of Organ Donation on the Organ Donor and His Family A Dissertation Proposal Background The process of organ transplantation involves harvesting a necessary organ from a live donor or human cadaver to a patient in need of the healthy organ. Such process entails much ethical consideration as the procedure is very delicate and complicated. It is a procedure that can put the organ donor and/or recipient at risk of death or other dangerous complications if conditions are not appropriate and in the hands of an incapable physician.

There is a scarcity of studies on the psychological effects of organ transplantation on the recipient of the organ (Schindler, 1981; Sharp, 2000), but a dearth on the psychological effects on the living donor and the next of kin of cadaveric donors. This study will specifically explore the psychological effects of the organ transplantation policies on the organ donor and his family. Brief Literature Review The two sources of organ donation are live human donors, mostly close family relatives of the patient in need of the organ, and cadaveric donors.

Live donors usually do it for altruistic reasons in the hope of saving the life of a loved one (Dewar, 1998). On the other hand, in the case of cadaveric donation the issue of consent of the deceased donor comes into question (Dewar, 1998). Usually, such consent is manifested by a signed organ donor card that the deceased has in his/her possession, or else, he/she has, when alive, explicitly expressed willingness to donate his/her organs upon his/her death. The unavailability of such presumed consent turns the responsibility of providing consent to the next of kin.

This is where most of the problems with organ procurement rest, as most family members may be reluctant in disturbing the peace of dead and may hold various views in organ harvest (Jarvis, 1995; Koch, 2002). This study aims to find answers to the following research question: “What are the psychological effects of organ transplantation on the organ donor and his family?” Specifically, this study aims to find out: What is the impact of the decision to be an organ donor on the donor and his/her family?

Do organ donation/ transplantation policies have a psychological impact on the organ donor and his/her family? If so, what are they? Proposed Methodology Straus and Corbin (1990) wrote that any phenomenon with limited information can still be better understood by using qualitative research methods. Qualitative methods are useful in unearthing new insights or perspectives on phenomena that are already much studied. It is possible to acquire more depth of information than what has surfaced so far, which may otherwise be difficult to explain quantitatively (Strauss & Corbin, 1990; Robson, 2002).

For this study, the qualitative method will be used, specifically, interviews with organ donors and their family members recruited from an organ donor facility or hospital. At least 8 participants are targeted and their interviews will be guided by the following questions and their insights will be encouraged. Data will be analyzed using thematic analysis which looks for patterns emerging from the data such as predominant thoughts, emotions and opinions commonly shared by the respondents regarding organ transplantation.

This study will not claim that the data gathered will be representative of the views of the general population of organ donors and their families, however, it will contribute information to the literature on Health Psychology based on the data gathered Bibliography Blaxter, L., Hughes, C., & Tight, M. (2006). How to research (3rd ed.). Berkshire: Open University Press. Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2000). Research methods in education (5th ed.). London: Routledge Falmer. Colebatch, H. (2002), “Who makes policy?

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