IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v294y2022ics0277953622000120.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding the role of scars in adults' narratives of childhood liver transplantation: A sociological perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Lowton, Karen
  • Higgs, Paul

Abstract

For sociological and anthropological scholars alike, the body is both a physical and social entity as well as a project to be worked on by the self and by others (Tamari, 2020). However, scholars' conceptual work in organ transplantation and the body has tended to overlook the resultant surgical scars, yet these are borne by all transplantation recipients. For example, in understanding biomedicine's intervention in the body through the skin Shildrick (2008) uses the term ‘corporeal cut’ conceptually rather than focus on the flesh that is cut and the scar that subsequently forms. In this way body flesh has become abstract; cut but unmarked, with transplantation scars being an ‘absent presence’ in these disciplines' thinking. In this paper we attempt to develop a more nuanced understanding of how organ transplantation shapes both the corporeality of the body and the embodiment of the self through considering the concept of a transplant scar in three ways. First, through transplantation scars' dynamic physical appearance across their lifecourse and their symbolic meaning for their bearer. Second, how scars' coded messages are framed for ‘stranger’ audiences in the context of their little experience of organ transplantation; and third, through the scars' display and storytelling in the context of more intimate relationships. Interview data from 27 adult survivors of childhood liver transplantation, who bear either ‘Lexus’ or ‘Mercedes’ transplantation scars, are drawn upon to illustrate these concepts. Awareness of the meanings associated with the scar as well as others' reactions, imputed or not, to the physicality of the scar point to the significance of the body as a corporeal marker of personal narratives and negotiations. It also indicates the polysemic nature of the scarring and the way in which inventive narratives can play a positive as well as negative role in the lives of organ transplant recipients.

Suggested Citation

  • Lowton, Karen & Higgs, Paul, 2022. "Understanding the role of scars in adults' narratives of childhood liver transplantation: A sociological perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:294:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622000120
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114709
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622000120
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114709?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brian Bell & Anna Bindler & Stephen Machin, 2018. "Crime Scars: Recessions and the Making of Career Criminals," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(3), pages 392-404, July.
    2. Lowton, Karen & Hiley, Chris & Higgs, Paul, 2017. "Constructing embodied identity in a ‘new’ ageing population: A qualitative study of the pioneer cohort of childhood liver transplant recipients in the UK," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 1-9.
    3. Gilson, Lucy, 2003. "Trust and the development of health care as a social institution," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 56(7), pages 1453-1468, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Galiani, Sebastian & Jaitman, Laura & Weinschelbaum, Federico, 2020. "Crime and durable goods," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 146-163.
    2. Manea, Roxana Elena & Piraino, Patrizio & Viarengo, Martina, 2023. "Crime, inequality and subsidized housing: Evidence from South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    3. Stephen Okumu Ombere, 2025. "Enhancing Intersectoral Collaboration in Maternal Healthcare for the Realization of Universal Health Coverage in Kenya: The Perspectives of Health Facility Administrators in Kilifi County, Kenya," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(4), pages 1-12, April.
    4. Machin, Stephen & McNally, Sandra & Ruiz-Valenzuela, Jenifer, 2020. "Entry through the narrow door: The costs of just failing high stakes exams," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    5. Coast, Joanna, 2018. "A history that goes hand in hand: Reflections on the development of health economics and the role played by Social Science & Medicine, 1967–2017," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 227-232.
    6. Brian Bell & Rui Costa & Stephen Machin, 2015. "Crime, Compulsory Schooling Laws and Education," CEP Discussion Papers dp1374, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    7. Smirnova, Michelle & Owens, Jennifer Gatewood, 2017. "Medicalized addiction, self-medication, or nonmedical prescription drug use? How trust figures into incarcerated women's conceptualization of illicit prescription drug use," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 106-115.
    8. Joan Costa-i-Font & Cristina Vilaplana-Prieto, 2023. "Health System Trust and Compliance with Covid-19 Restrictions," CESifo Working Paper Series 10291, CESifo.
    9. Stasiulis, Elaine & Gibson, Barbara E. & Webster, Fiona & Boydell, Katherine M., 2020. "Resisting governance and the production of trust in early psychosis intervention," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    10. Rosemarie Sheehan & Gerard Fealy, 2020. "Trust in the nurse: Findings from a survey of hospitalised children," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(21-22), pages 4289-4299, November.
    11. Chiara Cavaglia & Sandra McNally, 2025. "Young people, human capital investment and the Great Recession," CVER Research Papers 042, Centre for Vocational Education Research.
    12. Randi Hjalmarsson & Stephen Machin & Paolo Pinotti, 2024. "Crime and the labor market," CEP Discussion Papers dp2044, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    13. Jae-Young Lim & Hyun-Hoon Lee & Yeon-Hee Hwang, 2011. "Trust on doctor, social capital and medical care use of the elderly," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 12(2), pages 175-188, April.
    14. Drydakis, Nick, 2024. "Business disruptions due to social vulnerability and criminal activities in urban areas," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    15. Dyer, Thomas Anthony & Owens, Janine & Robinson, Peter Glenn, 2014. "The acceptability of care delegation in skill-mix: The salience of trust," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(2), pages 170-178.
    16. Xue-Jing Liu & Gustavo S. Mesch, 2020. "The Adoption of Preventive Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China and Israel," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-18, September.
    17. Sinha, Avik & Sengupta, Tuhin, 2020. "Governance Quality and Tourism: Moderation of Social Determinants of Crime," MPRA Paper 102212, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2020.
    18. Deiana, C, 2016. "Local Labour Market Effects of Unemployment on Crime Induced by Trade Shocks," Economics Discussion Papers 16529, University of Essex, Department of Economics.
    19. Nikhil Jha, 2021. "No time for crime? The effect of compulsory engagement on youth crime," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(6), pages 1571-1597, December.
    20. Jamison, Amelia M. & Quinn, Sandra Crouse & Freimuth, Vicki S., 2019. "“You don't trust a government vaccine”: Narratives of institutional trust and influenza vaccination among African American and white adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 87-94.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:294:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622000120. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.