CADAVER ORGAN DONATION IN HOSPITAL SETTING: HOW MSW CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Organ transplantation is a viable option of treatment for the patients whose organ functioning is severely compromised due to terminal illness requiring urgent replacement. Organs for transplantation can either be procured from living related and unrelated donors or deceased donors who, while alive, had expressed their wish to donate organs after death or whose family members are willing to donate their organs after the demise. The success of transplantation has not only offered opportunities for many patients to live a longer and quality life but also raised several problems. There is an acute shortage of human organs which may be attributed to many factors such as lack of awareness about organ donation, lack of adequate guidelines and procedures to harvest organs in hospitals, ignorance and resistance in hospital staff to identify potential donors and non-acceptance of brain stem death as death among general public.
Professional social workers’expertise can effectively be utilized in organ procurement and meeting the needs of terminally ill patients.