Anticipated regret and organ donor registration: A randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Public Health Interventions
• Organ Donation Research

Background:

• Organ donation registration rates are a critical public health concern.
• Interventions aimed at increasing organ donor registration are essential.
• Understanding psychological factors influencing registration decisions is key.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of an anticipated regret intervention on organ donor registration.
• To determine if prompting individuals about potential regret influences their decision to register as organ donors.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 14,509 participants was conducted.
• Participants were assigned to one of four groups: no questionnaire control, questionnaire control, theory of planned behavior, or anticipated regret.
• Organ donor registration was verified via the UK national transplant register six months post-intervention.

Main Results:

• The anticipated regret arm showed a lower organ donor registration rate (4.51%) compared to the no-questionnaire control arm (6.39%).
• Intention-to-treat analysis indicated a decrease in registration following the anticipated regret intervention.

Conclusions:

• A brief anticipated regret intervention negatively impacted organ donor registration rates.
• Questionnaire content may inadvertently "prime" negative perceptions of organ donation, affecting registration decisions.
• Methodological considerations regarding intervention "priming" effects require attention in future studies.