‘Why New Yorkers Don’t Donate Organs’

Only 13% of the adult population in New York state has registered as an organ donor, the fifth lowest donation rate for states in the U.S.  

The problem in New York State, aside from diverse cultural barriers to spreading the organ donor message, may be the lack of an online donor registry.  Instead, prospective donors must print a donor form and snail-mail it once signed.  Moreover, the donor form gives donors descriptive donation options that may be off-putting to those with a weak stomach.  

Currently, a bill is pending in New York that would permit electronic signatures for organ donation, making an online registry possible.  

See Susan Dominus, Why New Yorkers Don’t Donate Organs, NY Times, April 5, 2010.