What Shapes Funeral Directors’ Knowledge and Attitudes toward Organ Donation? A Pragmatic and Philosophical Conflict over Promoting Donation

• In Event: Developing and implementing more effective organ and blood donation campaigns

Abstract

This empirical study examines the perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes of 283 funeral directors (FD) in a large Midwestern state toward organ donation (OD) and the regions organ procurement organization (OPO). Specifically, the pragmatic impact that OD and OPO practices have on the delivery of mortuary services, FD identity and professional identification, the specific frames FDs use to understand the conflict between FDs and OPO, and the recommendations that FDs offered to resolve the conflict.

Authors

• Mark Di Corcia, Purdue University

• Susan Morgan, Purdue University