Doctoral Dissertation Research: An Ethnographic Investigation of the "Iranian Model" for Paid Unrelated Kidney Donation

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Doctoral student Elham Mireshghi (University of California, Irvine), under the supervision of Dr. Michael Montoya, will undertake research on the intersection of public policy, religion, and biotechnology through an examination of the making and implementation of policy for the regulation of human organ donation. Previous research has focused on either altruistic organ donations or illegal organ markets. This project will be undertaken in Iran, which is the only country where financial payment for kidney donation is legal and bureaucratically routinized, an arena of organ donation that has not previously been investigated by social scientists.Mireshghi will employ multiple social scientific research methods for data collection. She will conduct interviews with samples drawn from the four primary groups involved: the organization that instigated and now implements the policy; medical doctors; clerics who were consulted; and donors, recipients, and their families. She also will observe at hospitals where the operations are performed and collect and analyze religious documents.The research is important because it will contribute to understanding the process by which sensitive innovations are regulated and how those regulations are connected to social, cultural, and economic contexts in which they exist. Findings from the research may also contribute to the debate on solutions for the worldwide organ shortage. Funding this research also supports the education of a graduate student. This research is supported by both the NSF Cultural Anthropology Program and the Law and Social Sciences Program.