Organ Donation in the 21st Century a Call for Social Care

Abstract

This study analyses the current state of a serious and persistent social emergency, the shortage of organs, and discusses possible alternatives for a solution. It should be mentioned in this regard that society is currently experiencing a terrible epidemic with high rates of contamination and critical mortality, COVID 19. This serious situation has generated changes in the medical-social approaches and in the therapeutically resources of habitual solution. Of course organ and tissue transplantation has had to undergo this health crisis. The persistent presence of “organ shortage” before the pandemic showed unsatisfactory statistical results of organ transplants worldwide. Based on the results, the following key factors have been suggested as potentially responsible for this reality, and ideas and conclusions
on its possible solution are outlined:
•Society’s inhibitions on organ donation
•Partially effective social education policies
•Controversial legal specifications on organ donation
•Relative overall accordance with established ethical and economic standards regarding the costs of organ transplantation.
An analysis of these points generates a series of proposals for discussion.