Mah Si Hui, 15

School: Anglican High School

Topic: Roadshows are the most effective way to engage, educate and encourage all age groups on organ donation

Award: Merit, Senior Category, 2025

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” By educating residents of all age demographics about organ donation, we can potentially have more residents engaging in this subject. This could thus encourage more people to do their research to further their knowledge about this topic, and possibly encourage them to step up and donate their organs to those who need them if eligible. 

Nonetheless, are roadshows really the most effective way to educate, engage, and encourage more residents from all age groups about organ donation? Are there no other ways to get results as good or better?

Roadshows are effective in educating, engaging and encouraging residents from all age groups about organ donation, allowing doctors or certified personnel to easily educate individuals regardless of their socioeconomic status or age demographic, as residents regardless of income or age, can visit the roadshow to learn more about organ donation. They may approach the staff manning the roadshow to clarify doubts, or sit down and listen to speeches being given at those roadshows. This allows information about organ donation – a subject that the average person already has little understanding on and is not discussed enough – to reach a wider audience. Especially when the roadshow is situated in heartlands, places that are densely populated, such as Tampines, Jurong, Bedok, etc., it enables a large number of residents from these towns to go down to the nearest roadshow without much hassle. In addition, by hosting a roadshow, the certified personnel onsite will be able to immediately clarify doubts and queries residents may have about organ donation, dispelling any misconceptions they may have before false information about organ donation can start spreading online. This prevents even more residents, especially the elderly and younger demographics, from consuming falsehoods that may end up off-putting or deterring them from organ donation. The more people find going down to this roadshow convenient, the more people will be interested in taking the time to visit the roadshow, thus allowing information about organ donation to reach a wider audience. 

By conducting these roadshows, the organising committee could also invite organs donors to share their experience with residents at the roadshows, letting their firsthand experience of donating an organ to be shared with the public. This allows people who might have enquiries about organ donation to ask those who have had first-hand experience donated an organ, potentially encouraging more people to be interested in the topic, and quell possible fears that residents may have about organ donation. 

In addition, roadshows allow residents of lower socioeconomic backgrounds to receive the same amount of exposure to organ donation. This allows an even larger number of people, regardless of background and age demographic, to engage with organ donation and become more educated about this topic. By allowing even more to engage and learn more about organ donation, this can increase the number of potential future donors, or future doctors that hope to work in this field, hence helping this cause gain more recognition among the masses. 

Despite all the above, roadshows are not guaranteed to attract large number of audiences. While it might be easily accessible for many, if residents lack a general interest in organ donation, they will probably be unlikely to check out the roadshow. Without proper advertising, the masses might not even be aware of the roadshow happening, hence leading to a smaller number of residents visiting the roadshow, which then reduces the number of residents engaging with the topic of organ donation. 

Furthermore, roadshows are also unable to cater to a specific age group. While the organisation will be able to engage many people from different age demographics, they might not be able to fully cater to a specific group of residents. The professionals might be able to explain it to adults in more complex terms, but children and the elderly that may not be as fluent in English will have difficulty understanding what they are talking about. On the other hand, if they used much simpler terms to cater to these age groups, youths and adults might feel bored or talked down to, and end up not actively listening to them. 

Moreover, a one-off roadshow may not help residents retain information about organ donation or feel motivated to take action to contribute to this cause, such as signing up to be an organ donor. While it is indisputable that it will temporarily raise awareness, if residents were to forget everything they learnt within the fortnight, what would the point be of even hosting a roadshow? 

Although it is undeniable that roadshows are one of, if not the most, accessible option for residents from all age groups, we cannot deny that there is a myriad of other ways to engage, educate, and encourage residents of all age demographics about organ donation. An example would be spreading awareness on social media. According to a survey conducted by Meltwater in 2025, approximately 85% of Singaporeans use at least one social media platform. Hence by posting on these online platforms, it would be even more accessible for the masses, allowing information about organ donation to reach an even larger audience. Despite the accessibility that comes with using social media, if the residents have never shown any interest in organ donation, it is unlikely that the algorithm would recommend videos related to the subject on a user’s “For You” page. What would be the point of information about organ donation being accessible and ripe for the plucking for everyone, if no one watches or pays attention to the video in the first place? 

Another example could be to go to schools to educate students about organ donation. It would be much easier to specifically cater to the different levels of understanding students may have, such as using simpler terms for primary school students. These would allow all students to be able to receive the same information about organ donation without having to show interest in it on digital platforms for the algorithm to recommend it to them. This would also be great in engaging and educating the younger generation about organ donation. Personally, without personnel from the National Organ Transplant Unit (NOTU) visiting my school to teach students more about organ donation, I never would have known what I now know. This could kick-start many students’ interests in organ donation, possibly even encouraging them to volunteer to be an organ donor in the future. 

Having said that, educating and engaging underage students that cannot yet volunteer to be organ donors might turn out to be redundant. Without constant engagement regarding organ donation, there is no guarantee that these students will remember what they were taught until they are old enough to become organ donors themselves. Some might not even pay attention or retain what they were taught because they may have an “it doesn’t concern me” mentality. 

With all that being said, I think it is safe to conclude that there are no foolproof nor perfect methods to educate, engage, and encourage residents of all age groups about organ donation. There are many different means, such as promoting on social media, and going to schools to educate students, each with their own benefits and drawbacks.

Disclaimer: Please note that the views and opinions expressed in the essays for the Live On Festival 2025 are those of the participants and are not endorsed by the National Organ Transplant Unit (Ministry of Health).

To learn more about organ donation and organ transplantation in Singapore, please visit www.liveon.gov.sg ↗ (opens in new tab)