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Donate Life Hollywood - Research

 

Research by Dr. Susan Morgan of Purdue University provides the most comprehensive study of organ donation storylines on television.

 

These studies examine the content of entertainment television and the impact of organ donation storylines on viewers' behaviors and attitudes.  The research concludes that inaccurate storylines about organ and tissue donation stop people from signing up as a donor.

 

It is because of these dramatic findings, that the donation and transplant community initiated Donate Life Hollywood, a campaign to respond to donation storylines when they occur and to build partnerships with networks to help save lives by eliminating myths and misconceptions from television programming.


1. Donation storylines on television are filled with inaccuracies and myths.


2. The same inaccuracies are repeated in television storylines.


3. Inaccuracies and myths stop people from signing up to be an organ/tissue donor.


4. What viewers think about organ donation is directly related to what they see in TV storylines.


These findings are from three major research studies:

Morgan, S. E., Harrison, T. R., Chewning, L. V., DiCorcia, M., & Davis, L. (2007). Entertainment (mis)education: The framing of organ donation in entertainment television.  Health Communication, 22, 143-151.


Morgan, S. E., Movius, L., & Cody, M. (2008). The power of narratives: The effect of organ donation entertainment television storylines on the attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of donors and non-donors.  Journal of Communication, 58.


Morgan, S. E., Harrison, T.R., Afifi, W.A., Long, S.D., Stephenson, M.T., Reichert, T.  (2005). Family discussions about organ donation: How the media is used to justify opinions and influence others about donation decisions.  Clinical Transplantation, 19(5) 674-682.