title: Faith leaders united in their support for organ donation: findings from the UK Organ Donation Taskforce study.
abstract: This article reports the findings from the one-to-one interviews with the main UK faith and belief leaders, which were commissioned by the Organ Donation Taskforce. Interviews were arranged with the main faith and belief organizations within the UK and covered a range of issues related to organ donation. No faith or belief groups were against organ donation in principle. The interviewees stated that the majority opinion in their faith or belief group is to permit organ donation, with some actively supporting it. Interviewees were keen to stress that there is a broad spectrum of opinions on organ transplantation within each faith and belief group, and that consequently it is difficult to speak on behalf of an entire group. One complication mentioned by interviewees is that as organ transplantation is a relatively new medical procedure, there is no explicit reference to it in many original religious texts. Consequently positions on the receipt and donation of organs are based on interpretation. It was felt that a much greater level of engagement is needed, as organ donation is currently not a priority for many faith and belief groups.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Research, University of Bedfordshire, Putteridge Bury Campus, Luton, UK. gurch.randhawa@beds.ac.uk
authors.forename: Gurch
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Randhawa
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brocklehurst
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pateman
authors.forename: Suzannah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kinsella
authors.forename: Vivienne
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Parry
mesh_terms: D003469:Culture; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D011639:Public Opinion; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement; D006113:United Kingdom