Changing minds is hard. Changing defaults is smarter.
When it comes to organ donation, most people are in favour of it. They believe it’s a good thing. They intend to sign up.
But intention rarely leads to action, especially when the process involves forms, effort, or even a hint of emotional discomfort.
So countries around the world flipped the script: instead of asking people to opt in, they made donation the default.
And behaviour changed overnight.
The Behavioural Problem: Everyone Supports It. No One Registers.
In opt-in countries, organ donor registration is chronically low – often under 30%.
Not because people object, but because the process gets delayed or avoided.
The behavioural barriers?
- Procrastination;
- Mild friction (forms, websites, timing);
- Emotional discomfort – facing mortality, even abstractly;
- Default bias – sticking with what’s already set, even if it doesn’t reflect true preference.
The problem wasn’t moral. It was mechanical.
The Intervention: Make “Yes” the Default
In countries like Austria, Spain, and now the UK, governments implemented an opt-out system:
Unless you explicitly say otherwise, you’re considered willing to donate your organs after death.
You can opt out at any time. But unless you take that action, the default is yes.
This redesign turns inaction into contribution – not by forcing compliance, but by reversing friction.
The Behavioural Principle: Default Bias
We know from decades of behavioural research that defaults dominate decisions.
They signal:
- The “recommended” option;
- The path of least resistance;
- A socially acceptable norm.
By making donation automatic, countries didn’t increase persuasion – they reduced the effort to align with values people already hold.
It’s not coercion. It’s choice architecture at its most humane.
The Result: Lives Saved at Scale
Compare participation rates:
- Austria (opt-out): ~99%;
- Germany (opt-in): ~12%;
- Spain (opt-out): among the world’s highest donation rates;
- USA (mostly opt-in): ranges between 20% and 50% by state.
The switch didn’t cost money. It didn’t require education campaigns. It just restructured the decision.
And it resulted in millions more potential donors, thousands of lives saved, and near-universal public support.
The Takeaway for Business
You don’t always need to add motivation. Sometimes you just need to reduce the steps between someone’s values and their actions.
Ask yourself:
- What’s the current default in your system?
- Is it aligned with the outcome you want?
- Are you making people opt into the behaviour you actually want?
If your customer has to decide to act, you’ve already introduced friction. Let the default do the heavy lifting.
That’s the difference between good design and behavioural design.
