In spite of having the greatest number of licensed drivers in the United States, California also has the lowest percentage of registered organ donors. This is particularly strange since 95% of Americans support the idea of organ donation, but less than half actually take the needed effort to register and receive the “pink dot” donor indicator on their driver’s licenses. This likely has a bit to do with organ donation not being a “glamour” cause — it’s not something that people are active or vocal about unless they are personally touched by it, so — to get more people registered as organ donors — we had to find a way to make the tremendously important, and yet somehow thankless act of registration felt on an individual level.

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.

Our strategy was to transform one of the most stressful situations a driver can face — getting pulled over by the police — into a rewarding experience. Everyone dreads this situation, but — through Second Chances — traffic stops are turned into surprisingly positive experiences. Case in point: Imagine you are a driver — fidgeting as the police officer slowly walks up to your car knowing you’re probably about to get slapped with a $200 fine, and — instead — you get a smile and a personal thank-you for being an organ donor. These experiences are anything but forgettable, and—as these interactions gather steam—they serve as a larger community engagement program that creates closer ties between police departments and their local communities. Ultimately, the issue of registering to become an organ donor becomes less of an abstract issue, and more of a relevant part of everyday life.