Public campaigns in different European countries highlight an increasing awareness that public acceptance of organ donation is a crucial factor for the medical field of organ transplantation. However, addressing this complex matter requires a fresh perspective as to how governments truly engage with their public on issues which touch upon health care, morbidity, and mortality.
In this volume, eighteen contributions provide a timely review of how, in different countries and contexts, engagement and understanding of the public regarding organ donation can and should be investigated. The book provides detailed recent analysis of cultural impacts and religious attitudes of communities, patients, and even professionals. Furthermore, various forms of public engagement, including dialogues, campaigns, and media are discussed from methodological as well as theoretical perspectives. This volume offers new insights in how we gain a better understanding of public hopes and fears, interests and concerns about particular developments within organ donation and transplantation.
All contributors are members of the European Platform ELPAT (Ethical, Legal and Psychosocial Aspects of organ Transplantation).
Gurch Randhawa is Professor of Diversity in Public Health at the University of Bedfordshire, United Kingdom.
Silke Schicktanz is Professor of Cultural and Ethical Studies of Biomedicine at the University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany.