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Racial and Ethnic Differences in Altruism Assessed by Organ Donation
Richard Lynn
Published: 2020/09/01
Abstract
It has been proposed that many behavioral differences between racial groups can be conceptualized as differences in altruism such that this is high in whites, intermediate in Hispanics, and low in blacks (Lynn, 2002, 2019). The present investigation examines whether evidence from race differences in organ donations, mainly in the United States, supports or refutes this theory. The conclusion is that race differences in living donation support the theory. Differences in expressed willingness to donate post mortem, as well as in actual post mortem donations, are also compatible with the theory but provide only weak evidence because they permit alternative explanations.
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