This is such an important issue to address, and I think with a bit of planning this could be a simple and effective change to implement.

Congrats on the winning concept Vincent. A practical, implementable solution to such a daunting issue; very impressive.

Hey Vincent, thanks for pulling the inspiration through to a winning concept! well done!

Vincent, good job! Congrats!

Ashley--one way to get started would be to reach DonateLife.net, the organization Vincent mentions, for ideas and assistance. There is contact info (both at the national and state level) on their website. And when it comes to reaching out to lawmakers, you might consider an approach such as the one used by New York Sen. David Carlucci and Assemblyman Felix Ortiz--make it personal: http://tinyurl.com/3o4t5xh

Congratulations Vincent for a great idea.

One of the things the OpenIDEO team discussed with the Haas Center and 100K Cheeks was the question of how this idea might actually start getting implemented. Could someone create a petition drive? Could we lobby local and state politicians? How might we think about taking this concept "off the pages" of OpenIDEO and into real life?

Definitely good concept, I like the incorporation of the registration through a common. Congratulation !

I think Vincent's idea to promote the bone marrow registry and conduct cheek swabs at DMVs is worth pursuing. A drivers license must be the most commonly used form of identification in the US. Piggy-backing on an existing infrastructure that people are already involved in and familiar with (regardless of age, ethnicity, class, urban/rural residence, etc.) may reach people who might be missed through other forms of outreach. A driver's license requires regular renewals, unlike a Social Security card, and individuals' contact with their DMV is scattered throughout the year (unlike a Census, which happens at the same time for everyone and requires a lot of temp workers to implement). A challenge would be to work with each state to implement the program.

I really like this idea of using the DMV to increase registrations because people are already "primed" for indicating organ donation as part of getting or renewing their license. I offered the comments below in the evaluation template, but thought it might be helpful to have them here as well.

I think there is a difference between donating organs after you're deceased (easier to contemplate because we really don't think too much about it, it appeals to our altruistic nature, and it doesn't require any real effort on our part once we're "gone") versus donating stem cells or marrow which involves a real commitment in terms of time and effort. In other words, marrow donation is an "active" commitment versus a more passive one.

In an effort to remove some of the potential barriers / objections to registering, you might consider offering a "choice" of the type of stem/marrow donor you'd be. While the default selection for the DMV donor organ program is that any organ or tissue may be used, they do offer the ability to check off a "donor limitations" option.

With the "Be The Match" marrow registry, by signing up you are agreeing to donate via PBSC or marrow transplant. While the PBSC donation may be similar to a blood draw (although it is a bit more involved because it requires several days of filgrastim shots prior to the stem cell collection), the marrow transplant requires general anesthesia or regional anesthesia (spinal or epidural) and potentially an overnight hospital stay. It seems like the greater degree of commitment required for a bone marrow donation may give people second thoughts about registering.

What if potential donors had the ability to specify they'd be a PBSC donor or a PBSC + Marrow donor. Perhaps as a PBSC donor they indicate they'd be willing to be contacted if a marrow donation was required. (In other words, provide an "opt-in" for a marrow donation, rather than automatically agreeing to this more complicated procedure.) It strikes me that people might be more ready--particularly in a DMV environment--to sign up for something similar to a blood donation than they would be to sign up for a donation requiring a surgical procedure. And if its true that 80% of donations are done via PBSC, then you could think of this as serving the majority of the people needing this type of donation. The unknown in this equation is how many people don't register because they would need to commit to donating via either method, and if the option to register for a PBSC donation only would lower the barriers to registering.

Applauded your efforts!

very clever - as with another one of your ideas - you've done a good job of capitalizing off of existing infrastructure, procedures/routines, and people flow.

I really like the link here of the responsibility you have as a driver as well as as a person that is old enough to drive a car. I find especially for young drivers who just got their license, this is a great moment to raise awareness.
Megan, great point that the focus might get lost. Maybe renaming/re-positioning it - less organ/bone marrow donor but rather "social responsibility" or even a more catchier phrase - to simply ask: What are you willing to contribute? You are (in the case of the younger) now old enough to decide!

After your last comment, I understood what you meant. I like the idea about combining the 2 within the registration process. I wonder if the message gets lost with advertising for both though. That's why I focused on just one. Anyone else want to weigh in?

Think this is a great way to reach a larger audience that is already giving in some form. I wonder where else we could have these packets available too.

Thanks for the support everyone! There's definitely a natural linkage between marrow registration and the pre-existing organ donor opt-in on driver licenses. @Sarah: glad to here that this would have worked for you =). Great build about having bone marrow-specific awareness raisers target busy DMV's with relevant underrepresented populations. Also, even if these folks can't be at all DMVs, the information, swab kits, and incentive system could still be implemented throughout the system (since the process is simple enough that Be The Match already recruits people online by getting them to sign up for mailed self-registration kits).

Yes! I am just getting my driving license in the US and signed up for organ donation, I would have signed up for bone marrow too. I spent so much time waiting that I could have easily gotten my swab taken too while I was there. Bone marrow folks can't be at all dmv's always, but perhaps they could do a rotation once a week and if at any one time there was a shortage for a particular type of patient, perhaps they could focus on dmv's in areas with relevant populations.

It's all about making it easy.

I really like this idea. As I was reading through some of these concepts, I thought - this is kind of like the organ donor thing on the back of your license and the voila your concept.

I like the idea of connecting it to drivers licenses as bone marrow donation makes me think of organ donation and thus the DMV - makes sense!