This study explores the meanings of organ donation, with emphasis on donating eyes and hearts, comparing people across gender and across two ethnic groups. Four focus group interviews were conducted with people living in the North of England: (1) five Muslim women of Pakistani origin, (2) five Muslim men of Pakistani origin, (3) nine white English women, and (4) eight white English men. The focus group interviews were analysed using grounded theory and a conceptual micro-model created for each group. The main finding was that the act of organ donation can be perceived as involving a personal cost. The Muslims of Pakistani origin related costs with their religious beliefs. In contrast, the white English associated costs with their distrust of the medical system. Women were concerned about the transmission of disease or of personality, whereas the white English men highlighted their personal rights. We conclude that the meaning of organ donation is more than about being and having a body. It is bound up in metaphors of embodiment, religious considerations, and moral judgement of scientific and medical conduct. Muslims of Pakistani origin and white English Nationals Living in North EnglandOrgan donation can occur during a donor's lifetime or after his or her death and recent advances have increased the feasibility of xenotransplantation; the replacing of human organs with those of animals (Derenge & Bartucci, 1999). However, at the present time, the success of transplantation relies on the willingness of the public to donate their organs or those of recently deceased relatives. And a major problem in the United Kingdom is the dwindling numbers of cadaver donor organs in proportion to people waiting transplant (UK Transplant Support Service Authority, 1999).According to three UK surveys (New, Solomon, Dingwall & McHale, 1994), 70% of the population are willing to donate but only 27-32% carry an organ donor card. Men and women show similar willingness to donate but women are twice as likely to carry a card. Moreover, 10% of those who carry a card place restrictions on their donation; 85% are not prepared to donate their corneas and 18% do not wish to donate their heart (UKTSSA, 1999). Interestingly, women are less likely to donate either of these tissues than are men (Wilms, Kiefer, Shanteau & McIntyre, 1987).Studies of organ donation decisions also suggest that the eyes and heart are special in that bereaved relatives often refuse these organs for donation (e.g., Fulton, Fulton & Simmons, 1977). Shanteau and Harris (1992) speculated that reluctance to donate may not be due to lack of knowledge or empathy per se but to 'unstated motivations, perceived risks and unarticulated fears' (p.2). Hence, the meaning of carrying an organ donor card or of donating specific body parts, particularly the eyes and heart, may be complex and have different meanings for men and women.In the UK there is very little literature on cross-cultural differences in organ donation. Ahmed, Harris and Brown's (1999) The meanings of org...