Organ Donation Registration Rates and Presumed Consent
Donor Consent Registration Rate moved from 18% to 99.1% — a +81.1 percentage-point (451% relative) change (sample: Cross-national European Comparison).
Study details
- Challenge
- Despite high public support (90%+) for organ donation, actual voluntary registration rates in opt-in countries remained critically low (under 20%).
- Intervention
- Transitioned from an 'Opt-In' policy (requiring active sign-up) to an 'Opt-Out' presumed consent policy (where citizens are registered as donors unless they explicitly request otherwise).
- Outcome
- Donor Consent Registration Rate: 18% (control) → 99.1% (treatment); +81.1 pts, 451% relative
- Sample
- Cross-national European Comparison
- Key takeaway
- Defaults are incredibly powerful because they leverage human friction, procrastination, and the perception of the status quo as the socially recommended action.
- Biases leveraged
- Default EffectChoice Overload
- Source
- Johnson, E. J., & Goldstein, D. (2003). Do defaults save lives? Science, 302(5649), 1338-1339.
Cite this page
Behavioral Economics Lab. "Organ Donation Registration Rates and Presumed Consent." Behavioral Economics Lab, https://behavioraleconomicslab.com/findings/organ-donation-defaults.
Primary source: Johnson, E. J., & Goldstein, D. (2003). Do defaults save lives? Science, 302(5649), 1338-1339.