Case 11: Increasing Organ Donation: The Case for Social Marketing

There were over 600 patients on the organ waiting list in Ireland in November 2010. Ireland also witnessed a dramatic decline in the number of donors from 90 donors in 2009 to 58 donors in 2010. This case focuses on investigating the current state of organ donation in the Republic of Ireland, with the eventual goal of recommending alterations to improve the system. The need to put organ donation on a legislative framework was highlighted as well as the need for social marketing to target both the medical community and society at large to establish a moral obligation/duty to donate.