TY  - JOUR
AU  - Mocan,Naci
AU  - Tekin,Erdal
TI  - The Determinants of the Willingness to be an Organ Donor
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 11316
PY  - 2005
Y2  - May 2005
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11316
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11316.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Naci H. Mocan
Department of Economics
Louisiana State University
2119 Patrick F. Taylor Hall
Baton Rouge, LA 70803-6306
Tel: 225/578-4570
E-Mail: mocan@lsu.edu

Erdal Tekin
Department of Economics
Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3992
Atlanta, GA 30302-3992
Tel: 404/413-0163
Fax: 404/413-0145
E-Mail: tekin@gsu.edu
AB  - The total value of life lost due to death because of waiting for an organ transplant is greater than $4 billion annually in the United States, and the excess demand for organs has been increasing over time. To shed light on the factors that impact the willingness to donate an organ, we analyze data from the United States and the European Union. The rate of willingness to donate an organ is 38 % among young adults in the U.S., and it is 42 % in Europe. Interesting similarities emerge between the U.S. and Europe regarding the impact of gender, political views and education on the willingness to donate. In the U.S. Blacks, Hispanics and Catholics are less likely to donate. In Europe, individuals who reveal that they are familiar with the rules and regulations governing the donation and transplantation of human organs are more likely to donate. In both data sets individuals who had some encounter with the health care sector %u2013either through a recent emergency room visit (in the U.S.), or perhaps because of a long-standing illness (in the E.U), are more likely to become organ donors. Mother%u2019s education has a separate positive impact.
ER  -