Cooper, Jessie and Murphy, Zivarna orcid.org/0000-0001-6792-007X (2024) Making organ donation after circulatory death routine:Preserving patienthood and reproducing ways of dying in the intensive care unit. Sociology of health & illness. ISSN 1467-9566
Abstract
Controlled organ donation after circulatory death (DCD) was re-introduced in the UK in 2008, in efforts to increase rates of organs for transplant. Following reintroduction, there were debates about the ethics of DCD, including whether potential DCD donors receive end-of-life care which is in their best interests. Since this time, DCD has become a routine donor pathway in the NHS. In this article, we present findings from an ethnographic study examining the everyday practices of DCD in two English Trusts. Drawing on the concept of death brokering and Bea's (2020) call to consider organ donation as embedded and routine practice within health care, we look at how DCD is integrated into end-of-life care in intensive care units. We show how DCD is made routine at the end-of-life via the practices of health professionals who create an active separation between discussions about death and donation; reproduce usual ways of doing things in end-of-life care; and respect the distinction between patient/donor, dying and death. In doing so, we argue these function to preserve the patienthood of the potential donor, ensuring DCD operates as an integrated part, and culturally accepted form of, good end-of-life care for potential donors, their relatives, and health professionals alike.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Hull York Medical School (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 28 Aug 2024 23:34 |
Last Modified: | 24 Oct 2024 00:21 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13824 |
Status: | Published online |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/1467-9566.13824 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:216556 |
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Description: Sociology Health Illness - 2024 - Cooper - Making organ donation after circulatory death routine Preserving patienthood
Licence: CC-BY 2.5