POLICY FORUM - Dan Goldstein

1338 Since 1995, more than 45,000 people inthe United States have died waitingfor a suitable donor organ. Althoughan oft-cited poll (1) showed that 85% ofAmericans approve of organ donation, lessthan half had made a decision about donat-ing, and fewer still (28%) had granted per-mission by signing a donor card, a patternalso observed in Germany, Spain, andSweden (2 4). Given the shortage ofdonors, the gap between approval and ac-tion is a matter of life and drives the decision to become apotential donor? Within the EuropeanUnion, donation rates vary by nearly an or-der of magnitude across countries and thesedifferences are stable from year to when controlling for variables such astransplant infrastructure, economic and ed-ucational status, and religion (5), large dif-ferences in donation rates persist. Why?Most public POLICY choices have a no-action default, that is, a condition is im-posed when an individual fails to make adecision (6,7).

1338 S ince 1995, more than 45,000 people in the United States have died waiting for a suitable donor organ. Although an oft-cited poll (1) showed that 85% ofAmericans approve of organ donation, less

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