Social representations of organs and tissues donation for transplantation among school adolescents

Abstract

Anchored in the Theory of Social Representations, this qualitative research aims to analyze the possible social representations of adolescents enrolled in public high school regarding organ and tissue donations for transplantations. In total, 60 adolescents aged between 14 and 18 years, enrolled in a public high school in the north of Paraná were included in the study. Based on a word association technique, we verified the central nucleus of social representations regarding organ donation and being an organ donor to comprise words defining the meaning of love, life, solidarity, compassion, salvation, and help. In turn, words such as death, blood, hope, happiness, and compassion comprised intermediate and peripheral elements. In this sense, the social representation of organ donation among adolescents may be understood as a process capable of promoting the recovery of human vitality, referring to feelings of gratitude and happiness, inserted in a more conscious and caring society.