Increasing minority bone marrow donors : a transmedia storyworld to increase donor populations and spread awareness
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Abstract
Finding an unrelated bone marrow donor is hard enough, but for minorities the chances are even more slim. Due to a lack of education and negative misconceptions about donating bone marrow, African Americans aren’t necessarily eager to join the donor registry. This creative project sought to 1) build a transmedia storytelling campaign intended to change the perceptions that minorities have about donating bone marrow, and 2) encourage minorities to become donors after those negative perceptions have been changed. This project used transmedia storytelling and design thinking methods to first explore African American students’ knowledge of bone marrow donation and willingness to donate. Next, design thinking strategies helped illuminate key concepts and generate ideas for changing people’s perceptions of how they think about bone marrow donation. The transmedia storyworld consists of a website, YouTube channel, interactive posters, and a social media campaign that together serve to educate and change people’s perceptions of bone marrow donation in an effort to encourage them to become donors.