The National Association of Catholic Chaplains

Menu
  • Membership
      • Apply for Membership
      • Frequently-Asked Questions about Membership
      • Request Retired Membership
      • State Liaisons
      • Newest Members
      • Membership Directory
      • Member map
      • Celebrating Our Members’ 25-year Membership and Certification
      • In Memoriam: deceased NACC members
    • Close
  • Certification
    • Initial Board Certification
      • Board Certified Chaplain (BCC)
      • Certified Associate Chaplain (CAC)
      • Palliative Care and Hospice Advanced Certification (PCHAC)
      • VA Initial Board Certification
      • Recognition of Strategic Partners Board Certification
      • Newly Certified Chaplains
      • Close
    • Renewal of Certification
    • Certification Competencies & Procedures
      • Certification Competencies & Procedures
      • Important Background on NACC Certification Competencies
      • Professional Code of Ethics for Spiritual Care Professionals
      • Certification Commission
      • Certification Appeals Panel
      • Ethics Appeals Panel
      • Close
    • Mentors
    • Recognition of Strategic Partners Board Certification
    • Verifying Certification
    • Maintaining Certification in Retirement
    • Graduate Theological Programs
    • Close
  • Education Resources
      • 2023 Retreat
      • 2023 Webinar Series
      • Recorded webinars (2009-2022)
      • Calendar of Events
      • Graduate Theological Programs
      • CPE Programs
      • NACC Professional Networking Calls
      • Continuing Education Hour Requests – Guidelines and Forms
      • Ongoing Educational Opportunities
      • Local/Regional Gatherings & Events
      • Past Conferences (2004 – 2022)
      • Vision
    • Close
  • Resources
    • Antiracism Resources
    • Administrator Resources
    • Awareness Resources
    • Chaplaincy Care Resources
    • Coronavirus Resources & Updates
    • Job Listings
    • The Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling
    • Partners in Pastoral Care
    • Research
    • Specialty Care Resources
    • Spirituality and Prayer Resources
    • Spiritual Care Department Resources
    • Vision
    • Close
  • About NACC
    • About the NACC
      • Mission/Vision/Values
      • Constitution and ByLaws
      • Strategic Plan
      • History
      • Close
    • Annual Awards
    • Association Leadership
      • NACC Board of Directors
      • Committees, Commissions, and Panels
      • National Office Staff
      • Episcopal Advisory Council
      • Close
    • Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition (CPMC)
    • Choose Chaplaincy
    • Health Care Collaborators
    • NACC Merchandise
    • NACC Publications and Documents
      • Vision
      • NACC Now
      • Annual Reports & Financial Reviews
      • Documents and publications
      • NACC Blog
      • Close
    • Partners in Pastoral Care
    • Partners for Professional Excellence in Spiritual Care
    • Vision
    • Close
  • Choose Chaplaincy
  • Contact Us
      • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    • Close
  • Donate Now
  • Member Login
Home » Vision » March-April 2020 » Weight of history works against African-American donations

Weight of history works against African-American donations

By Daniel Waters

Part Three of the Ethical and Religious Directives states that medical professionals and patients “enter into a relationship that requires, among other things, mutual respect, trust, honesty, and appropriate confidentiality. The resulting free exchange of information must avoid manipulation, intimidation, or condescension.”

Unfortunately, the medical establishment in the U.S. has a long history of the opposite of that relationship with African-Americans. As slaves, African-Americans were regularly subjected to medical uses of their bodies without consent. This included dead black bodies being robbed from graves for medical experimentation. In the Tuskegee syphilis experiment from 1932 to 1972, 399 African-American men were misled about their treatment for this awful disease. Henrietta Lacks was an African-American woman who was the source of an immortalized cell line used for research without her knowledge or consent.

For many in the African-American community, these stories are not simply history – they are the stories of today. The urgent presence of this discrimination leads to a fear that if an African-American is an organ donor, medical personnel will not try to save one’s life but will do nothing in an emergency, in order to “get another donor.” Although this may be true for anyone, the deep mistrust of the medical community heightens the fear around this issue.

There is a widespread thought that “my religion” will not allow organ donation. Tied in with this is that fear that if one donates an organ it will affect one’s status in the afterlife, i.e. if I do not leave this world “whole” I will never be “whole” for eternity. The reality is that most major religions either support organ donation as an unselfish act of supreme charity or that it is the decision of the individual and the denominational stance is completely neutral. Other troublesome myths are that the donation will go to white, wealthy or famous patients; that the donation will be sold; or that the donor will have to pay for the process.

Many in the African-American community experience mistrust, disrespect and lack of honesty with the medical community in general, including organ donation.

Many in the African-American community experience mistrust, disrespect and lack of honesty with the medical community in general, including organ donation. As a white male blessed with an interracial marriage for almost 38 years (my wife is African-American), I have experienced positive attitudes toward the medical community in general and organ donation specifically from my parents and sibling. But I encounter the attitude described above from my in-laws and my wife’s siblings. My brother-in-law battled diabetes and kidney issues but adamantly refused any discussion of a kidney transplant. He refused an amputation when these issues worsened. He eventually agreed to an amputation, but only with my wife’s intervention. At the time of his death, one of the first questions his daughter asked was if the amputated part would be buried with him.

Research studies in 2001 and 2003 clearly indicate that traditional promotion campaigns will do little or nothing to increase organ donation in the African-American community. However, there are indications that a consistent supportive message from religious leaders can make a difference in participation. There is a high degree of trust in one’s religious leader. African-American physicians and educators who are willing to take the responsibility of dispelling fears seem to be able to make a difference in these numbers as well. The 2007 research article “Understanding the Role of Clergy in African American Organ and Tissue Donation Decision-Making” discusses the challenges and benefits of reaching out to religious leaders.

The need for organ donors remains high, and the need is often higher in the African-American population. An appeal to altruism from trusted sources can begin a slow but necessary process of change.

Daniel Waters, BCC, is manager of mission and spiritual care at Bon Secours Mercy Health St. Charles Hospital in Oregon, OH.


About Vision
Archive of back issues

Current issue
Current issue (printable PDF)



Organ Donation: Choice, gift, and ministry

More people considering organ donation while alive – by David Lichter, Executive Director

Pastorally sensitive process helps families understand neurological death – by D.W. Donovan

When the gift can’t be received: The double loss of organ rejection – by Anne M. Windholz

Organ procurement groups can collaborate with chaplains – by Kelly Edwards, Gift of Life Donor Program

Advance directives make ideal time to plan organ donation – by James L. Robinson

Priest’s gift of kidney to parishioner gives everyone new outlook on life – by Rev. Martin J. Bancroft, Jr.

Ethics of organ donation range across many realms – by Steven J. Squires

Weight of history works against African-American donations – by Daniel Waters

End of life and organ donation may look different to Muslims – by Rev. Alejandro De Jesus

Parents choose to share their son with others in need – by Colette Hanlon

Research literature sheds light on organ donation process – by Austine Duru

Dementia communication tools will benefit professionals – by Anne M. Windholz

National Association of Catholic Chaplains
4915 S. Howell Avenue, Suite 501
Milwaukee, WI 53207
Get Directions

Phone: (414) 483-4898
Fax: (414) 483-6712
Email: info@nacc.org

Our office hours
Mon-Thur 8:00am – 5:00pm Central Time
Friday 8:00am – 12 Noon
Sat-Sun closed

Job Listings

Current job opportunities for chaplains, priests, CPE residents, supervisors, directors of pastoral care, managers, mission directors, and more.

Job Listings

Free Publications

Don’t miss the latest news, subscribe to our newsletter today! You don’t have to be a member to subscribe.

Donate Now

Learn more about making a tax-deductible donation to NACC.

Donate Now

Connect with us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
© 1997 - 2023 National Association of Catholic Chaplains - Sitemap

Built by Westwords