Increasing Organ Donor Registration as a Means to Increase Transplantation: An Experiment With Actual Organ Donor Registrations (Next of Kin Study)

Last registered on June 24, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Increasing Organ Donor Registration as a Means to Increase Transplantation: An Experiment With Actual Organ Donor Registrations (Next of Kin Study)
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013505
Initial registration date
June 10, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
June 24, 2024, 9:41 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Judd Kessler
Affiliation
Wharton School - University of Pennsylvania
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Alvin Roth
PI Affiliation
Stanford University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2013-01-08
End date
2013-01-09
Keywords
Behavior, Health, Lab
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The U.S. has a severe shortage of organs for transplant. Recently — inspired by research based on hypothetical choices — jurisdictions have tried to increase organ donor registrations by changing how the registration question is asked. We evaluate these changes with a novel "field-in-the-lab" experiment, in which subjects change their real organ donor status, and with new donor registration data collected from U.S. states. A "yes/no" frame is not more effective than an "opt-in" frame, contradicting conclusions based on hypothetical choices, but other question wording can matter and asking individuals to reconsider their donor status increases registrations.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Kessler, Judd and Alvin Roth. 2024. "Increasing Organ Donor Registration as a Means to Increase Transplantation: An Experiment With Actual Organ Donor Registrations (Next of Kin Study)." AEA RCT Registry. June 24. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13505-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2013-01-08
Intervention End Date
2013-01-09

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Hypothetical suggestions for next of kin organ donation decisions.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In our Next of Kin experiment, we asked 803 subjects from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to report what next of kin should do when deciding whether to donate the organs of a deceased relative. Subjects answered questions in four scenarios. In each scenario, they saw one of two decision screens and were told that a hypothetical deceased had either chosen to join or not join the registry. For the opt-in frame subjects were told the deceased either: selected "I want to register as an organ and tissue donor" or did not select "I want to register as an organ and tissue donor." For the yes/no frame, subjects were told the deceased either: selected "I want to register as an organ and tissue donor" or selected "I do not want to register as an organ and tissue donor." In each scenario, the subject was then asked whether the next of kin should donate the organs of the deceased and how confident they were in that answer. The four scenarios were presented one-at-a-time in one of four random orders.

This study was conducted in January 2013. Subjects were told the survey would take 5 to 10 minutes (on average it was completed in just
over 5 minutes) and were paid $0.50 for completing the survey.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization was conducted via Qualtrics.
Randomization Unit
Individuals.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
803 individuals.
Sample size: planned number of observations
803 individuals x 4 scenarios each (N=3,212).
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
803 individuals per scenario.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Pennsylvania IRB
IRB Approval Date
2012-03-20
IRB Approval Number
815310
IRB Name
Harvard University IRB
IRB Approval Date
2010-07-27
IRB Approval Number
00000109
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials