An experiment on living kin donations and donor registration systems

• Main Authors: Tan, Clarice Zi Ling, Er, Michelle Xin Juan, Teng, Yi Ting
• Other Authors: Jonathan Tan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology::Behaviorism
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/166554
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Studies have found that cadaveric donation rates are higher in an Opt-out default policy as compared to an Opt-in default policy. However, the Opt-out default policy may result in a negative spillover effect of having lower living donor rates as people are less willing to be a living donor. Our research addresses this gap by investigating the trade-off between cadaveric and living donations to kin under a policy transition from the Opt-in system to Opt-out system and the motivations behind opting to be a living kin donor. We designed a pilot laboratory experiment with a total of 96 undergraduates and graduate students from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Across our study, we found that the Opt-out defaults for cadaveric organ donations do not result in negative spillover effect of lower living kin donations. We proved that subjects are more inclined to be a living donor to their kin if they feel a sense of closeness with them. We further proved that if the subject’s matched partner donates to him, he would be more inclined to donate to his partner in the next few rounds. Our findings provide insights for policymakers who aim to increase living donation rates in countries.