“We're Good at Tennis, Soccer… and Organ Donation”: The Spanish organ procurement organization as a producer of national identity discourses (2017–2020)

Abstract

Spain is the global leader in organ donation and transplantation since 1992, an achievement that has become a source of national pride, in a country where national symbols are heavily contested. In this article I demonstrate that Spain's organ procurement organization is an active producer of national identity discourses oriented to increasing the legitimacy of the Spanish national project and generating affective adherence to the state institutions. Through a qualitative analysis of 43 press releases, 27 media interviews, 3200 tweets, and 35 YouTube videos, I show that the organization reproduces Spain as a frame of reference, redefines the bonds and boundaries of the national community by linking them to the circulation of organs, and attributes positive moral values to Spain's citizenry. It highlights Spain's internal unity, presenting organ procurement as a national enterprise that binds together different social actors and territories in a common project. It also leverages Spain's success in this area to depict the country as a global exemplar comparable to its neighbors in Western and Northern Europe. My study contributes to a better understanding of contemporary Spanish national identity discourses and raises theoretical questions about the role of alternative sources of national identity in countries with histories of conflict around national narratives and symbols.