MSc Nursing Project: Organ Donor Data in Driving Licenses, DCU, 2018

This project, submitted by a student at Dublin City University, proposes a framework and methodology for including organ donor data on driving licenses in Saudi Arabia. The research is grounded in Mill's utilitarianism, aiming to maximize the good for the greatest number of people by increasing organ donation rates. The project addresses the current lack of legislation and low donor rates in Saudi Arabia, advocating for a mandated choice system where individuals can register their consent for organ donation on their driving licenses. The methodology involves quality improvement, policy change, and obtaining prior consent. The expected outcome is an increase in organ donors, preventing deaths due to organ failure, improving quality of life, and reducing associated medical expenses. The project includes a literature review, research rationale, and references to support its claims, highlighting the ethical and practical considerations of organ donation and transplantation.

ORGAN DONOR DATA IN DRIVING
LICENSE
-Submitted by:

Introduction:
• Organ donation can be
defined as the process of
removal of an organ from
the body of an individual
to be transplanted into
another individual either
legally or by consent while
the donor is alive or dead.
• Studies suggest that 30%
of the deaths due to
failure of organs could be
saved by organ
transplantation across the
world (Ethredge et al.
2018).

Problem Statement:
• At present, there is no legislation that
would enable the government or the
organ transplantation organizations to
identify potential organ donor within
Saudi Arabia.

Research Rationale:
• Lack of awareness about
organ donation
• Barriers in the form of
cultural beliefs
Fig: List of organs that can be
donated includes brain,
kidney, heart, lungs, stomach,
large intestine, liver, female
and male reproductive organs
(Source: Shalhoub 2017)

Research significance:
• The concept of organ donation has been
approved by the council of senior scholars and
has been active for 34 years (Shalhoub 2017)
• On account of a substantial lack of adequate
donors, patients need to travel abroad for
organ transplantations.
• Patients experience a number of health issues
on their way back after the transplantation
and a significant proportion of the patients die
due to non-availability of donors.

Research framework:
• The research framework is based upon
the Mill’s normative theory of
utilitarianism (Mill 2016)
• The theory focuses on the enhancement of
greater good for the largest number of
individual
• Consensual organ donation would
improve the quality of life and save
preventable deaths.

Methodology:
• Fostering quality improvement
• Reinforcing change in government policy
related to organ donation
• Introduce organ donation checkbox in
driving license to boost the number of
organ donors in Saudi Arabia and present
the collected data for policy amendement

Rationale for obtaining
consent:
• Organ donation should be validated upon
the consent of the donors
• As mentioned by (Consolo and Wigmore
2017), consent should remain pivotal in
determining the schemes of organ
donation
• The mandated choice system of consent
would be adapted which would require
donors to register their choices on
conventional identity cards such as

Identifying patient’s interest:
• Saving multiple lives by organ donation
• Greater good of humanity

Fostering implementation:
• Obtaining prior consent from the patient
would help in avoiding delay in the
process of organ donation
• Would help in the preservation of patient
interest and autonomy

Expected Outcome:
Therefore upon
implementation of the
proposed project, it can be
expected that the number
of organ donors within
Saudi Arabia will increase
which would help in
preventing deaths due to
organ failure, improve
quality of living and also
save associated medical
expenditure.

References:
Consolo, H.K. and Wigmore, S.J., 2017. Ethical and legal
issues associated with organ donation and
transplantation. Surgery (Oxford), 35(7), pp.341-345.
Etheredge, H., Penn, C. and Watermeyer, J., 2018. Opt‐in
or opt‐out to increase organ donation in South Africa?
Appraising proposed strategies using an empirical ethics
analysis. Developing world bioethics, 18(2), pp.119-125.
Mill, J.S., 2016. Utilitarianism. In Seven masterpieces of
philosophy (pp. 337-383). Routledge.
Shalhoub, Lulwa. 2017. 12.5% of Saudis are organ donor
cardholders. ABC News.
<http://www.arabnews.com/node/1091371/saudi-arabia>
Viewed 13 December 2018.

THANK YOU!!