Organ Donation and Transplantation: Body Organs as an Exchangeable Socio-Cultural Resource

Drawing on observations, interviews, and research that he has carried out in Israel since 1991, Ben-David (medical sociology and anthropology, Tel-Aviv University, Israel) examines the social processes inherent in organ transplantation within the framework of social exchange theory, asking how it is that human organs become exchangeable resources. He looks at the motives of medical staff, donor families, and recipients, and discusses cultural concepts of the body, life, and death. He ends the book with a discussion of the symbolic connection between the individual body and the social group. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR