Why Do Young Adults in the United States Have Such Low Rates of Organ Donation Registration?

Amy J. Wotring, Timothy R. Jordan, Barbara Saltzman, Tavis Glassman, Jennifer Holloway and Jagdish Khubchandani
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Amy J. Wotring: College of Health and Human Services, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA
Timothy R. Jordan: School of Population Health, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA
Barbara Saltzman: School of Population Health, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA
Tavis Glassman: School of Population Health, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA
Jennifer Holloway: University of Toledo Medical Center, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43614, USA
Jagdish Khubchandani: College of Health, Education, and Social Transformation, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA

Challenges, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: The demand for transplantable organs has outpaced the supply. Thus, 20 Americans die every day while waiting for an organ. Although most adults support organ donation, 42% are not registered. The rate is even lower among young adults who are not enrolled in/never graduated from college. The aim of this study was to use the Integrated Behavior Model (IBM) to identify factors that predicted organ donation registration among a racially diverse sample of non-student young adults. The study was observational and cross-sectional. Proportional allocation was used to identify a racially diverse sample of 550 non-student, young adults from ten states in the U.S. with the lowest registration rates. A valid and reliable survey was designed, pilot-tested, and administered. A total of 407 young adults completed the survey (74%). Only 19% were registered donors. Caucasians were more likely to be registered donors than racial minorities, χ² (3, N = 407) = 15.19, p = 0.002. Those with more positive direct attitudes toward registration were 1.5 times more likely to be registered than those who had negative direct attitudes. Among non-registrants, indirect descriptive norm and direct attitude were statistically significant predictors of behavioral intention. Moreover, those who knew someone who donated an organ and knew someone who needed a transplant were nearly three times more likely to intend to register in the next year. The IBM proved useful in elucidating factors that predicted intention to register among non-student young adults. The IBM should be used by those who desire to increase registration rates.

Keywords: organ donation; registration; young adults; Integrated Behavioral Model; Precaution Adoption Process Model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A00 C00 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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