Skin donation for transplantation: Social representations of family members who (do not) give consent for collection

Abstract

Despite the advantages of using deceased donor skin in the treatment of burns, it is not easy to obtain these grafts due to low tissue donation rates. In order to discover the social representations of family members of organ donors regarding skin donation and to analyze the convergences and divergences of these representations between family members who consented and those who refused to allow skin to be donated for transplantation, we conducted interviews with 20 family members of organ donors in a situation of brain death. Data were obtained through interviews and submitted to the Collective Subject Discourse Analysis Technique. This study shows that in the opinion of family members who consented and those who did not authorize skin donation, the consideration contains both positive and negative representations, which can have different weights and influence decision-making. This study also highlights, in an unprecedented way, the representation of the animalization of the donor, which can be a reason for the refusal to allow skin to be donated.

Keywords: Biological dressings; Organ and tissue donation; Qualitative research; Skin; Skin transplant.