Prognosis
Motorcycle Rallies Are Linked to Surge in Organ Transplants in Study
- Transplant recipients increased 26% during rally dates
- Rallies bring in hundreds of thousands people every year
A motorcycle rally in Washington, DC.
Photographer: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Motorcycle rallies that bring thousands of enthusiasts together to ride and roam on two wheels can increase regional rates of lethal crashes, according to a study linking the events to surges in organ donations and transplants.
In an analysis of US regions where seven annual motorcycle rallies took place from 2005 to 2021, the number of daily donors increased 21% during the events compared to the four weeks before and after, according to the study from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital that was published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Daily transplant recipients rose 26% during the rallies.