Spiritual Meaning of Cadaveric Organ Donation among Protestant Korean Immigrants in the United States

This qualitative study investigated Protestant Korean immigrants’ views on cadaveric organ donation through the analysis of in-depth interviews with thirty-two Protestant Korean immigrants in the United States. The interviews show a meaning-making process of cadaveric organ donation among study part...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religions
Main Author: Lee, Hajung (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: MDPI 2023
In: Religions
Further subjects:B Lived Religion
B End-of-life
B Korean immigrants
B Spirituality
B Afterlife
B immigrant healthcare
B Organ Donation
B Asian American
B Protestant
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Summary:This qualitative study investigated Protestant Korean immigrants’ views on cadaveric organ donation through the analysis of in-depth interviews with thirty-two Protestant Korean immigrants in the United States. The interviews show a meaning-making process of cadaveric organ donation among study participants. They describe participants’ complex sentiments on cadaveric organ donation, based on a blend of Protestant, Confucian, Shamanistic, and Daoist views. This study shows how Protestant Korean immigrants can overcome potential fears of organ procurement, stemming from indigenous Korean contexts, and describes their religious views on the afterlife. The findings indicated that most participants held positive views of cadaveric organ donation because they considered organ donation to be an altruistic, life-giving, Christian spiritual practice for the benefit of others. I argue that Protestant Korean immigrants’ lived religion can lead them to overcome fear of indigenous Korean beliefs and to choose organ donation as a spiritual practice.
ISSN:2077-1444
Contains:Enthalten in: Religions
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.3390/rel14030352