DMV Campaign Promotes Organ Donor Registrations

A recent study shows that organ donor promotions at DMVs promotes registration of organ donations. The study shows that more than 90 percent of the public supports organ donation, yet less than half of the population actually registers to make a donation if the opportunity occurred. 

The study looked at 40 Department Motor Vehicles facilities in Illinois that showed efforts that can make a significant difference in various individual's decision to donate. 
According to lead study author and University of Illinois professor Brian Quick, he and his research team implemented a phased multiple-message campaign that placed printed materials in the form of brochures, counter mats and posters--in over 20 of the 40 facilities during four months in 2011. They also trained volunteers to advertise the campaign. 

Findings showed that half of the 20 had historically had a high rate of donor registration. The other 20 facilities in the study served as a control group that was split between historically high-and-low-registration facilities. 

The study concludes with the following, via a press release: "The result for the 20 sites that got the campaign was a "statistically significant" reduction in the downward trend for registration at driver facilities, when compared to those in the control group, according to Quick, whose research focuses on health communication. He is a professor in the department of communication and in the College of Medicine at Illinois.

"The improvement was not dramatic, but Quick said the findings were meaningful because most of those who registered this time had likely been asked before and declined, as part of their previous license renewal. The question has been part of the license renewal process since Illinois created its first-person, legally binding consent registry for organ donation in 2006."'

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Clinical Transplantation.