Desire, duty and medical gifting: how it became possible to long for a useful death

Abstract

It is common in social science critique of medical uses of the body to portray donation of the dead body as a sacrifice. In contemporary Denmark, however, some people claim to desire post-mortem utility. Here we argue that the articulated desires for utility should not be written off as false consciousness hiding a 'real' sacrifice. People use medical promises to reinvent the meaning of death; and, in turn, they make promises to medical institutions by signing up as donors. Registrations of post-mortem donations serve to uphold a sense of control; ensure post-vital dignity, and to align people with wider socially engrained ideals of productivity and agency. We build our argument on interviews conducted in Denmark 2007-2018.

Unfinished Lives and Multiple Deaths: Bodies, Buddhists and Organ Donation

“…And it examines how organ donation is reworked as a spiritual practice par excellence of selflessness and renunciation – but which, resultantly, adherents may not want to partake in. In contrast to dominant framings of organ and body donation as a desirable ‘post vital utility’ (Hoeyer and Olejaz, 2020), Buddhist adherents, as this article will show, breathe life into death, positioning donor bodies as useful but potentially still living.…”

“…But in contrast to the story above, in which the Buddha offered his body while living, the presentation focused on donors who gave their body parts after death had occurred. This was a view resonant with the ‘post-mortem vitality’ of medically gifting the body on termination of life (Hoeyer and Olejaz, 2020), in which the bodies of donors are finished in their own right yet remain of use to others.…”

Ethical Discourse of Medical Students on the Phenomenon of Death: A Qualitative Study

“…This is an approach underlined by studies that have focused on the appropriate attitudes that should be ethically considered while training with cadavers (Erbay et al, 2015;Karatas, 2018). Additionally, the opinions of the medical students who saw the act of being a body donor as altruistic behavior complies with the findings of a study concerning potential body donors who expect to be useful after death (Hoeyer & Olejaz, 2019).…”

“…For instance, the meaning content of the concept of “dignity” has been discussed over the last 15 years. The term “dignity” has a function beyond respect for persons and autonomy (Hofmann, 2020), and has a norm-forming effect. The medical students’ statements indicating that they were aware of the importance of respecting the dignity of the patients who are about to die and their sociocultural environment, the language they used, their religious beliefs, and other values imply that they have properly conceived the meaning content of these concepts.…”

Ethical Challenges of Organ Transplantation

“…Registered donors articulate the reasons behind their donation wishes in their daily life settings and are detached from the actual turmoil of a sudden donation decision. Many are not aware that in reality, only one in 1.000 deaths occur in a manner that makes postmortem donation an option (Hoeyer/Olejaz 2020). Donor families, conversely, make decisions in the hospital in the immediate aftermath of a sudden tragedy, while they are still deeply emotionally affected.…”