Motivational Factors Affecting Body and Organ Donation in China Identified Based on Grounded Theory

Abstract

In recent decades, China has experienced a shortage of donated bodies and organs for dissection during medical education and clinical transplantation. This study investigated and analyzed motivational factors affecting body and organ donation in China. Thirty-three body and organ donation volunteers were interviewed in-depth, and their donation motivations were investigated. The data were decomposed, detected, compared, conceptualized, and categorized using open, correlation, and selective coding based on grounded theory. The results were used to construct a model that elucidates the foundation of body and organ donation based on "humanistic medical care" and "death in existentialism" as driving forces for body and organ donors. This study provides new theoretical perspectives that contribute to interpreting behavior related to body and organ donation and offers a theoretical basis for related policymaking and promotional work.