Tinder joins forces with the NHS to raise awareness among young people of the importance of organ donation

Over the next two weeks, Tinder, the world’s most popular app for meeting new people, is partnering with NHS Blood and Transplant to draw attention to a different kind of search for a match – the challenging wait for a donor match.

Made in Chelsea’s Jamie Laing, Olympic Gold Medallist Jade Jones MBE and Emmerdale’s Gemma Oaten are all in support of the initiative. They all have profiles that appear on Tinder with ‘The Wait’ logo to help draw attention to the importance of organ donation. Tinder is promoting the campaign to its UK users who are 18-35 year-olds, which is an important group of people for the NHS.

Users who swipe right will match with these profiles and receive a message that says “If only it was that easy for those in need of a life saving organ to find a match”. They will be told there are thousands of people waiting for a transplant, be encouraged to say “Yes I donate” and click on the link provided to sign up on the NHS Organ Donor Register to increase the chance that patients in the future will receive the organ match they need.

Tinder is helping to promote organ donation during NHS Blood and Transplant’s campaign, ‘The Wait’, to draw attention to people waiting for a transplant and the fact that many people die before an organ match is found for them. There are just under 7,000 people currently on the UK transplant waiting list. In the last decade more than 6,000 people across the UK have died while awaiting an organ transplant*.

Hermione Way, Tinder’s Head of European Communications said: “We’re delighted to have teamed up with NHS Blood and Transplant to help save lives. Tinder users regularly make the decision to swipe left or right wondering whether someone may be the person they are looking for. While those swiping decisions are important and could be the first step to a successful relationship, we hope that the NHS profiles featuring Jamie, Jade and Gemma will encourage people to make and act upon a different decision too – to sign up as an organ donor.”

Made in Chelsea’s Jamie Laing said: “I think it's a fantastic idea: using Tinder, one of the UK's most popular apps, as a platform to help the NHS raise awareness about organ donation and literally save lives! I'm super excited to be a part of this campaign.”

Olympian Jade Jones said: “I got involved in this campaign as it's a great way of reaching out to young people in all corners of the UK and raising awareness about organ donation. It's also the season of giving so hopefully we'll get even more people signed up thanks to Tinder!"

Sally Johnson, Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant said: “Educating and encouraging people to sign up for organ donation – that’s what our partnership with Tinder is all about. While a third of the UK population have registered their intention to donate on the NHS Organ Donor Register, millions more support donation but haven’t taken the final step to sign up. With the help of these bespoke profiles on Tinder, we’ll grab people’s attention and throw a spotlight on the importance of organ donation. Joining the register takes only a couple of minutes – about the same amount of time as a few swipes on Tinder. The best part is knowing that you could save or improve up to nine individuals’ lives in the future.”

To join the NHS Organ Donor Register, go to organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 23 23 – Now is the #TimeToSign and to tell those closest to you that you want to be a donor. 

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Notes to editors

For more information or images, please contact the NHS Blood and Transplant press office at 01923 367 600 or email pressoffice@nhsbt.nhs.uk

Out of hours contact number: 0117 969 2444

How a verified profile works:

A verified symbol appears on a profile when notable public figures, celebrities and athletes appear in users’ recommendations.

*- This figure includes those on the waiting list for a transplant and those who were removed from the list due to their condition deteriorating and died within 12 months of removal from the list

Coincidentally, this release follows the recent news of two couples who met on Tinder and learned that each of their partners were donor matches for live-saving kidney transplants.

About NHS Blood and Transplant and Organ Donation

• NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is a joint England and Wales Special Health Authority. Its remit includes the provision of a reliable, efficient supply of blood and associated services to the NHS in England and North Wales. It is also the organ donor organisation for the whole of the UK and is responsible for matching and allocating donated organs.
• 21.8 million people in the UK have already signed onto the NHS Organ Donor Register. These people have joined the Register to record their decision to donate organs and/or tissue after their death for transplantation. This information is used by authorised medical staff to establish whether a person wanted to donate. A newly build ODR has just been launched in the UK. This also gives registrants the option to register a decision not to donate their organs or to nominate others to make the decision for them after their death.
• Anyone can register on the ODR. Age isn’t a barrier to being an organ or tissue donor and neither are most medical conditions. People in their 70s and 80s have become donors and saved many lives.
• One donor can save or transform up to 9 lives and many more can be helped through the donation of tissues.

About Tinder

• Launched in 2012, Tinder is the world's leading social app for meeting new people.
• With its global reach, people in all 196 countries around the world are swiping right to connect with others, making it a top 10 lifestyle app in more than 70 countries.
• In 2015, the company introduced Tinder Plus, giving users access to premium features, Rewind and Passport. Each day, 26 million matches are made on Tinder with more than 10 billion matches made to date.