Major Motorcycle Rallies Linked with Increased Organ Donations and Transplants

A new study shows that major motorcycle rallies in the United States are correlated with increased incidence of organ donation and transplants. The study appeared in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Large motorcycle rallies attract thousands of attendees, and are linked with trauma-related serious injury and death. However, less is about the association between these big rallies and organ donation and transplants.

The researchers conducted a population-based, retrospective cross-sectional study of 10,798 organ donors and 35,329 organ recipients derived from a national transplant registry from 2005 to 2021. The investigators assessed seven large motorcycle rallies and the regions near these events. The main outcomes of interest were defined as incidence of motor vehicle crash–related organ donation and number of patients receiving a solid organ transplant from these donors.

According to the results, there were 21% increase in organ donations per day, and 26% more transplant recipients per day during major motorcycle rallies compared with the 4 weeks prior and after these rallies in the regions that were studied.

“While safety measures to minimize morbidity and mortality during motorcycle rallies should be prioritized, this study showed the downstream association of these events with organ donation and transplants,” the researchers concluded.

This cross sectional study found that major motorcycle rallies in the US were associated with an increase in organ donation and transplants. @dcron09 @AnupamBJena https://t.co/ZoCjFirhLI

— JAMA Internal Medicine (@JAMAInternalMed) November 28, 2022

Every year, half a million people travel to Sturgis, SD for its annual Motorcycle Rally (many similar size events elsewhere too).

There are unfortunately ↑ traffic accidents/fatalities during these events.

Is there an impact on organ donation? (🧵1/8) https://t.co/N628HcYWV4

— David Cron, MD (@dcron09) November 28, 2022