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Emotions count in organ donation

July 12, 2001

Feelings are more important than thoughts in predicting registration as an organ donor. This is the key finding of a study described today, Wednesday 18 July, at The British Psychological Society Social Section Annual Conference, held at the University of Surrey, Guildford, by Dr Tom Farsides, of the Social Psychology Group, School of Social Sciences, University of Sussex. As a result, the Government strategy to double the amount of organ donors may be doomed to failure because of its focus on positive arguments and failure to counter fears.

More than 500 people took part in a survey of attitudes towards organ donation. When thinking about becoming posthumous organ donors, people's responses could be described in terms of 'negative emotions' (e.g. fears), 'positive cognition' (e.g. benefit), and 'awareness of one's own mortality' (e.g. loss of self). Barriers to registering as an organ donor included feelings that organ donation was personally irrelevant and that registering as a donor was personally costly, and worries about relatives' reactions and the fate of one's organs.

Experiencing negative emotion when thinking about organ donation was the most significant factor in an individual's attitude toward organ donation. The study found that the people with the most positive attitude of all toward organ donation were those individuals who thought it 'a good thing' without experiencing any negative emotion.

British Psychological Society (BPS)