1 in 10 people are likely to opt out of a proposed orga

Around one in 10 people would consider refusing to take part in a proposed new system aimed at increasing organ donation by presuming consent, new research has revealed. .

The research, carried out by the University of Stirling, found that people looking to opt out of the new approach in Scotland and England reported stronger emotional barriers to organ donation. This includes discomfort when thinking about one’s own death and an aversion to organ donation.

The researchers say their findings suggest that campaigns that target emotions and feelings may be more effective than interventions that present facts. Jordan Miller co-authored the study as part of his PhD with health psychologists Professor Ronan O’Carroll and Dr Sinead Currie from the School of Natural Sciences.

“We found that participants who planned to opt out of the proposed system reported increased emotional barriers to organ donation,” Miller said. “Concern that organ donation would violate bodily integrity was a particularly important barrier for this group.”

“Our research looked at the deception-busting strategies currently employed by the NHS and used by other healthcare providers around the world, to ensure myths and misconceptions about organ donation are corrected with factual information. We found that this approach was not effective in increasing donor intent to donate their organs.” I plan to opt out. ”

More than 6,000 people are currently on the waiting list for an organ transplant in the UK, according to the latest figures. But because of organ shortages, three people die every day while waiting for a transplant.

Ninety per cent of the UK population supports organ donation, but only 38 per cent are on the organ donor register. To address this, the Scottish and English governments are planning to follow Wales’ lead and introduce opt-out donor consent systems, where consent is presumed unless the person opts out.

Prior to Sterling’s research, there was limited research on public attitudes and intentions regarding proposed opt-out consent laws.

Researchers surveyed 1,202 people in the UK about their intentions under the proposed system and found that 9.4% planned to opt out or were unsure of their decision. The researchers noted that in reality, this number could be even higher, as 70% of participants were already organ donors.

The survey found that 66.1% opted in and 24.3% gave “deemed consent.”

Miller said the study suggests that organ donation campaigns could be more effective if they focused on emotions rather than facts, overcoming deep-rooted emotional beliefs and increasing donor intent. He said he is doing so.

She added: “Communication campaigns aimed at dispelling harmful misconceptions about organ donation are frequently carried out on organ donation websites. However, our research shows that “This study has shown that this does not affect provider intentions for people who plan to opt out.”

“Evidence consistently shows that emotional barriers, or emotions, play the biggest role in influencing donor behavior. However, the myth-busting campaigns used by the NHS target facts rather than emotions. Therefore, interventions designed to target emotions and feelings are more effective at increasing donor intent.”

He added: “Before implementing opt-out consent laws, alternative strategies to increase donor intent need to be evaluated.”

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Funded by the University of Stirling’s Health and Behavioral Research Programme, the study ‘What if I hadn’t died – myth-busting and organ donation’ British Journal of Health Psychology.