Nudging Policies in Asia: Evaluating Singapore's Opt-out System for Organ Donation

People make decisions every day, both for themselves and on behalf of others. In the case of organ donations, despite the opt-out systems used in Singapore where the default is a presumed consent on the part of the individual, the actualized donation rate is lower than expect. This is partially because family members are called in to make surrogate decisions on behalf of the patient, especially patients near brain death or have been certified to be brain dead.

To address the shortfall in organ donations, the investigators plan to run three studies:

• First, the investigators seek to conduct a representative survey of the public's perception towards organ donation. The investigators will focus on their views towards donating their own vs. family members' organs, and to explore the role of cultural influences on decision-making.
• Second, the investigators will conduct the survey focusing on NUS students and the ways they respond to an opt-out, opt-in, or mandatory organ donation system.
• Third, the investigators will conduct the survey on an online platform (MTurk) to gather the views of participants across India and USA about organ donation.

The studies have the potential to improve actualized organ donation rates, as well as to inform the medical community in their communication with family members.