Organ and tissue donation: a psychoanalytic analysis of drawings

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Cadaveric donor organ and tissue donation is a rare act due to certain beliefs and lack of information in the subjects. For this reason, some institutions such as the National Transplant Centre (CENATRA), have undertaken campaigns to promote it, especially among children, who have a more favourable attitude than the adult population. One result of this is the children's drawing contest for donation at a state and national level in Mexico. OBJECTIVE: The present article recovers some drawings that were published in the magazine Detrasplantes (2003 to 2014) in order to analyze them from a psychoanalytic perspective and thus make visible the subjective components of the act of donation that are often overlooked in awareness campaigns because the emphasis lies on altruistic values. METHODS: Methodologically, the drawings selected for analysis were those whose graphic elements showed similarities and, hence, formed a repetitive pattern that was later described and broken down according to four main sub-themes: 1) the real component; 2) transparency and body fragmentation; 3) gift and sacrifice, and, 4) donor anonymity and debt.  These were developed with the support of psychoanalytic notions. CONCLUSION: The article concludes that the donation of organs and tissues from cadaveric donors involves subjective components of the order of anguish, and therefore, is an act that cannot be limited exclusively to the medical and physiological field. By making the subjective side visible, the psychoanalytical perspective allows us to broaden our understanding of what is holding back the increase in altruism with respect to cadaveric donor organ and tissue donation.