The overwhelming problem facing those responsible for Organ donation is recruiting new donors; but this challenge is underpinned by three fundamental flaws in the process – proximity, visibility and impact. Organ donation is inextricably linked to death, which comes with social baggage and makes it a very distant thought for the ideal donors who are the healthiest in society and thus not those thinking about their own mortality on a regular basis. The intimate nature of somebody’s passing makes the moment of organ donation deeply personal, and so not something often publicly shared. Finally, but perhaps most importantly, an organ donor will never see the impact of their donation. In a world obsessed with instant gratification this poses a real problem in motivating people to commit to an act they’ll never get the thanks for.

People proudly display different color buttons, ribbons and pins, to show their support of various causes. Organ donation is different. The only identifiable sign of support is a tiny pink dot on the front of a registered donor’s driver’s license. You register to become an organ donor once, and put the only indication of your support in your wallet. But that tiny pink dot shows a willingness to save up to 8 lives. With over 114 000 people awaiting organ transplants, the need for more registered donors is paramount but awareness for the cause is low. With Second Chances, we saw an opportunity to bring that tiny pink dot out of hiding and use it to thank those who have registered while encouraging others to do the same. Giving organ donors a hint of the gratification they wouldn’t normally get.

With two days to kick off National Organ Donation Awareness Month, we wanted to tackle proximity, visibility and impact - mimicking what one feels when they learn that they need an organ transplant by taking a dreaded situation that no one wants, no one expects, and that results in tremendous relief by getting through it okay: Being pulled over by the cops. We used that relatable, stressful moment as an opportunity to give drivers with the pink dot on their licenses a “Second Chance Ticket”—a warning instead of a fine—since they themselves gave someone a second chance at life. Initially working with three police departments, drivers committing minor infractions were pulled over, and—instead of being ticketed—had a 1-on-1 encounter with a police officer in which they were personally thanked. Additionally, a toolkit was made available on secondchancesdonor.org for police everywhere to implement the Second Chances program and support this great cause.

The Second Chances campaign not only resulted in an increase in the number of donors, but tackled the underlying issues by making everyone feel closer to organ donation, creating visibility for a sensitive topic and showing appreciation for donors.