Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTdnramDskj/Social media can be a powerful tool for 21st century crowdsourcing. A collaborative study from Yale and the University of Toronto studied the usefulness of TikTok videos for recruiting cell, tissue, and organ donors.The researchers presented 30 TikTok videos to 46 participants 17 to 35 years of age and surveyed their reactions. Data shows that well-designed videos increased willingness to register as donors and agree to donate.Analyzing the most successful videos, they find that infotainment wins over pure education with a preachy or arrogant flair. The most effective clips feature young people with ages similar to those of the target audience.With an estimated 1-1.5 billion daily users on TikTok, but 3 billion on Instagram and the same on Facebook, social media has a spectacular reach.  That opens the doors to attract just the right donors who will save lives. As a pediatric surgeon and medical journalist, I’m delighted to be broadcasting on all 3 platforms. I