Growing waiting lists for organ transplantation require special attention to populations whose donation rates are low despite a high demand for donors from these groups. Among American Indian people, there is a dire need for kidney transplantation as a consequence of type 2 diabetes. Longitudinal data for Plains Indian tribes indicate a 19.7% incidence of type 2 diabetes. For plains tribes, these data equate with a high demand for kidney donation. Unfortunately, corresponding consent rates for organ donation among American Indian people are low. This project addresses this urgent public health issue by proposing a multi-state, culturally-targeted intervention to increase organ and tissue donation among American Indian young adults living in the Great Plains region of the United States and attending tribal colleges.

           The project is derived from the cultural traditions of story-telling and gift giving among the Plains tribes as well as the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change. The experimental intervention includes print materials, video, and a web-site, and is disseminated throughout tribal colleges using peer education. The control intervention is web-site access only. The target population is American Indian young adults attending tribal colleges located in the Great Plains region of the United States.

           A quasi-experimental design is used to compare the experimental and control interventions on the primary outcome of improved stage of motivational readiness to be an organ donor, with the desired outcome being progression to the action stage, which is intent to donate coupled with verifiable family notification. Six tribal colleges are randomly assigned to receive either the experimental or control intervention (3 colleges per group). Stage of motivational readiness is measured by an instrument previously tested with American Indian adults.

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