Physical experiences and ethical reflections of living organ donors
10.12026/j.issn.1001-8565.2025.11.03
- VernacularTitle:活体器官捐献供体的身体体验与伦理思考
- Author:
Yan ZHANG
1
;
Rui DENG
1
Author Information
1. School of Humanities and Social Sciences， Shanxi Medical University， Taiyuan 030000， China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
living transplantation;
donor;
physical experience;
organ donation
- From:
Chinese Medical Ethics
2025;38(11):1392-1397
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
The body remains irreducible in medical development， and human reflections on life are mediated through the body. Living organ transplantation modifies the natural body， creating new identities for both donors and recipients. As the party that experiences only harm without benefit， the living donor’s body emerges in the illness of others， generating physical experiences ranging from the wholeness to the mutilation， the individual to the family， and the distinction to the intervention. The healthy body reemerges， disappears due to other’s disease， and becomes dependent on the recipient’s body. The complex physical experiences and feelings plunge the donor’s identity into confusion. Providing dual attention to the living donor’s body from both legal and ethical perspectives， dialectically thinking about bodily integrity， and deepening ethical considerations of personal self-determination and subjectivity may assist living donors in reshaping their bodily knowledge and rethinking their self-worth and the meaning of life from a different perspective.
