Public Policy Governing Organ and Tissue Procurement

Abstract

Letters1 February 1996Public Policy Governing Organ and Tissue ProcurementLaura A. Siminoff, PhD, Robert Arnold, MD, and Arthur Caplan, PhDLaura A. Siminoff, PhDUniversity of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh, PA 15213University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, PA 19104Search for more papers by this author, Robert Arnold, MDUniversity of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh, PA 15213University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, PA 19104Search for more papers by this author, and Arthur Caplan, PhDUniversity of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh, PA 15213University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, PA 19104Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-124-3-199602010-00030 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:Large segments of the U.S. public have serious reservations about organ donation. Dr. Spital questions our interpretation of Hessing and colleagues' study [1], which found that 18.2% of respondents reported a fear of being declared dead too soon and a significant association with willingness to donate. A fear reported by 18.2% of the population would be considered “common” by most social scientists.Seltzer, Siminoff, and Arnold presented data at the Third Biennial Conference on Psychiatric, Psychosocial and Ethical Issues in Organ Transplantation showing that 28.0% (n = 414) of respondents reported agreeing with the statement “I worry that ...