A quantitative appraisal of African Americans’ decisions to become registered organ donors at the driver’s license office

• Published in: Clinical transplantation 2018-10, Vol.32 (10), p.e13402-n/a
• Main Authors: DuBay, Derek A., Ivankova, Nataliya V., Herbey, Ivan, Redden, David T., Holt, Cheryl, Siminoff, Laura, Fouad, Mona N., Su, Zemin, Morinelli, Thomas A., Martin, Michelle Y.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African Americans; organ donor; telephone interview
• ISSN: 0902-0063; 1399-0012
• DOI: 10.1111/ctr.13402

African American (AA) organ donation registration rates fall short of national objectives. The goal of the present study was to utilize data acquired from a quantitative telephone survey to provide information for a future Department of Motorized Vehicles (DMV) intervention to increase AA organ donor registration at the DMV. AAs (n = 20 177) that had visited an Alabama DMV office within a 3‐month period were recruited via direct mailing to participate in a quantitative phone survey. Data from 155 respondents that participated in the survey were analyzed. Of those respondents deciding to become a registered organ donor (ROD; n = 122), one‐third made that decision at the time of visiting the DMV. Of those who chose not to become a ROD (n = 33), one‐third made the decision during the DMV visit. Almost 85% of all participants wanted to learn more about organ donation while waiting at the DMV, preferably via TV messaging (digital signage), with the messaging delivered from organ donors, transplant recipients, and healthcare experts. Altruism, accurate organ donation information, and encouragement from family and friends were the most important educational topics to support AAs becoming a ROD. These data provide a platform to inform future interventions designed to increase AAs becoming a ROD at the DMV.