We advocate for an opt-out system for organ donation at the DMV and want to change the form as such:
We are suggesting an edited version of the current organ donation form at the DMV in order to make it fit the opt-out format because we believe that this will be more effective in increasing the number of registered organ donors in California. Recent studies reflect this as well.
Opt-out is a promising alternative to the current system because it taps into a psychological phenomenon known as “default neglect” (Stanford Graduate School of Business on the “Power of Doing Nothing”). If people had to opt-out of giving rather than opt-in, more people would be registered as organ donors and more lives would be saved. This is best explained by the status quo bias. If people are not motivated enough, they will stick with the default option that is already given to them, regardless of what it is.
Referenced Link: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/power-doing-nothing?linkId=47525963
If we tweak the form such that the default option is being registered as an organ donor (opt-out version), then more people will choose not to change it, leading to an increase in the number of registered organ donors. However, if people are truly opposed to the idea of organ donation, then they can always explicitly choose the option stating that they do not wish to be an organ donor. This can even been seen in studies performed about organ donation in other countries as well. A study done by Eric Johnson and Daniel Goldstein gathered data about the percentage of organ donors in various European countries. They came to a startling discovery: countries that people view as culturally and religiously quite similar in their values, for example, Denmark and Sweden, Netherlands and Belgium, Germany and Austria, and United Kingdom and France, have very drastic differences in the percentage of organ donors.
The reason behind this: the form given to residents at the DMV. The countries with the very high percentages of organ donors, such as Sweden, Belgium, Austria and France, all have a presumed consent (opt-out) version, while the countries with a relatively lower percentage of organ donors, such as Denmark, Netherlands, Germany and United Kingdom, all had an explicit consent (opt-in) version. The results of this study are shown below and highlight the need for changes to be made at the DMV in order to increase organ donation rates throughout the state.
Effective consent rates, by country. Explicit consent (opt-in, gold) and presumed consent (opt-out, blue).
Also read : The Debate