Germany has one of the largest donor registries in the world. A great part of their success is due to their effective and engaging education techniques. From my simple survey of college students, it is clear these tactics can benefit our registries and generate growth in our donor pools. While researchers have discovered that lack of information is often a major factor that either prevents people form volunteering in the first place and often is a reason matched donors back out, my research illustrates a direct need for education on college campuses.
I was impressed that 23 of the 95 surveyed were already registered as donors, however I was also excited to see that 29 had never even heard of registering as a bone marrow donor and 50 of the 95 had no idea how the process of donation works. This means that there is an opportunity to educate these students and potentially garner them into the registry as much needed potential donors. It is also reassuring that these people had the opportunity to select commonly believed myths and horror stories about the process but instead admitted their ignorance. It gives me hope that they will be more open to learning and accepting information.
I was impressed that 23 of the 95 surveyed were already registered as donors, however I was also excited to see that 29 had never even heard of registering as a bone marrow donor and 50 of the 95 had no idea how the process of donation works. This means that there is an opportunity to educate these students and potentially garner them into the registry as much needed potential donors. It is also reassuring that these people had the opportunity to select commonly believed myths and horror stories about the process but instead admitted their ignorance. It gives me hope that they will be more open to learning and accepting information.
FUN FACT! Germany has the shortest "search to transplantation time," averaging just under 2 months. This is a result of citizens being easy to locate as they are required to notify the government every time they move. This is also very beneficial for patients seeking a donor who may not have a large window of time for their transplant to take place.
The image is a german swab drive promotion borrowed from DKMS.