This experiment tests whether being presented with an active choice increases organ donor registrations. Rather than simply being provided the option to opt in, a subgroup of people were instead presented with a choice of whether they wanted to register as an organ donor; they were forced to select either “yes” or “no.” Results show that this method provided no statistical difference in terms of organ donor registration rate.
Such a program would not have the intended effects of increasing organ donorship, but authors suggest it may even have a counter-effect as next of kin were may be less likely to offer donations from a family member who actively chose to abstain from organ donations. Other results have shown people are much less likely to opt-out of organ donorship if automatically registered. This may prove a more effective policy of increase organ donation registrations.