Words versus Actions about Organ Donation: A Four-Year Tracking Study of Attitudes and Self-Reported Behavior

organ donor card (ODC). The public seems to say one thing but does by the public are not matched by action. another. In July 1994, The Advertising Council, Inc., in conjunction with It is doubtful that the supply of cadaveric organs will ever the Coalition on Donation, launched a major promotional campaign to fully meet the demand. In fact, artificial organs (Basu-Dutt et educate the U.S. public about organ and tissue donation. This article al., 1997; Kaufmann et al., 1997), xenotransplantation, that reports on a four-year study tracking attitude toward organ donation and is, organs from animals (Arundell and McKenzie, 1997), and transplantation and its relationship with direct experience (knowing an even cloned organs (currently banned) may be the ultimate organ recipient) and intermediate behaviors. The intermediate behaviors solution. In the meantime, however, the organ donation and investigated are donating blood and signing an ODC. No significant transplantation community is actively seeking to increase the changes were noted in attitude toward donation, but the proportion of number of posthumous donations. One program seeking to individuals who had signed an ODC increased significantly. J BUSN RES increase donations is the national advertising and promotion 2000. 50.297–303.  2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. effort undertaken by the Advertising Council, Inc. and the Coalition on Donation.