A Department of Motor Vehicles Intervention Yields Moderate Increases in Donor Designation Rates

Abstract

Context— Nearly all persons (37% of public) who have a joined an organ donor registry in the United States have done so through their Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office, which is an underused venue for organ donation campaigns. Objective— To evaluate the effectiveness of a statewide DMV-based intervention to increase donor designation rates. Design and Setting— Thirty DMV offices in Florida were randomly assigned to receive usual care (n= 15) or an organ donation intervention (n= 15). Measurement and Primary Outcome— Donor designation rates were assessed at baseline (before the intervention), during the intervention, and at follow-up. Results— When baseline donor designation rate and region were controlled for, the intervention group showed a significantly higher aggregate monthly donor designation rate than the usual care group during the intervention phase of the study ( P = .02). Donor designation rates did not differ significantly ( P = .13) during the follow-up phase. Lower donor designations rates were significantly associated with DMV service regions with more minorities, less education, and lower income. Conclusion— We conclude that a comprehensive DMV-based intervention focused on staff education and direct interactions with the public could yield modest increases in donor designation rates.