Background: The inadequate supply of suitable deceased donor organs is well documented. Studies have suggested that Primary Care Providers (PCPs) could help improve donor registration rates due to the high level of trust between PCPs and their patients and role in discussing sensitive issues such as end of life planning, though few have assessed the effectiveness of such an intervention. Methods: A randomized trial of organ donation education and registration in 12 primary care offices affiliated with our institution was conducted. Offices served as their own controls, as the intervention was implemented on random days for a period of two weeks. For one week, all patients presenting for appointments received only the enrollment forms to register as organ donors (Group 1), during the second week, patients received an educational brochure in addition to the organ donor registration form. All participants were encouraged to discuss questions they had about organ donation with their PCPs. This intervention was based on an initial survey of local primary care physicians who conveyed a willingness to participate in the project, but limited time to do so. Registration rates at the county's department of motor vehicles (DMV) served as an external control. Results: A total of 2,391 patients participated in the study: 54% (n=1292) in Group 1, 1099 in Group 2. The participants were majority male (54.4%), predominantly white (77.3%) and 44.1% between the ages of 45-65; over two-thirds were not previously registered organ donors. At the end of the study, a total of 350 (21.0%) previously unregistered participants signed up as organ donors. Registration rates were significantly higher in Group 1 vs Group 2 (33.8% vs 7.9%, p<0.001). The overall registration rate was comparable to the DMV during the same time period (21.9%); though Group 1 was significantly better (p<0.001). Conclusion: Primary Care Provider offices served as a complimentary setting to the DMV for organ donor registration in our study; we therefore recommend that organ donation enrollment be routinely offered in these sites. Further studies should aim to explore effective strategies to maximize registration in the primary care setting.

CITATION INFORMATION: Kashyap R., Dokus M., Ryan N., James A., Kochik R., Hernandez R., Dolan J., Veazie P., Orloff M., McIntosh S. Improving Organ Donation Rates through a Primary Care Physician Office-Based Intervention Am J Transplant. 2017;17 (suppl 3).

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