Through the lenses of biology and sociology

This chapter identifies and explores some of the interconnections between the biological and technological attributes of organ replacement and its social and cultural concomitants. It draws on the more than four decades of first-hand field research that I have conducted in a variety of settings where organ transplants and/or artificial heart implants have been performed. It is offered as a set of case materials that illustrate the complexity of the interplay between biological, social, and cultural factors, and that suggest the fruitfulness and the fascination of probing these important interrelationships further.