Words versus actions about organ donation:: A four-year tracking study of attitudes and self-reported behavior

Historically, the proportion of the American public that expresses positive views about organ donation exceeds the proportion that actually signs an organ donor card (ODC). The public seems to say one thing but does another. In July 1994, The Advertising Council, Inc., in conjunction with the Coalition on Donation, launched a major promotional campaign to educate the U.S. public about organ and tissue donation. This article reports on a four-year study tracking attitude toward organ donation and transplantation and its relationship with direct experience (knowing an organ recipient) and intermediate behaviors. The intermediate behaviors investigated are donating blood and signing an ODC. No significant changes were noted in attitude toward donation, but the proportion of individuals who had signed an ODC increased significantly. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.