Waiting to Live

In 2021/22, just 52% of families who were approached about organ donation gave consent for their child’s organs to be donated. This represented just 40 organ donors under the age of 18. However, in cases where a child was already registered on the NHS Organ Donation Register, no family refused donation.

In a bid to raise vital awareness of the need for more child organ donors, VML has launched a powerful campaign alongside NHS Blood & Transplant that sees the children transformed into handmade dolls placed in waiting rooms across the country. The dolls promote conversation around paediatric organ donation and encourage more parents to consider adding their child to the register.

With the backing of hospitals across the country, more than 230 dolls have been handmade by over 140 makers. Many of the dolls are based on real children on the waiting list. For instance, Ralph’s doll wears his favourite lightning bolt t-shirt and holds a car; Ava’s doll wears a bear suit for her love of bears whilst Pablo’s doll is dressed in a karate outfit in reference to his favourite hobby.

Each doll will be wearing a badge with QR codes that links through to www.waitingtolive.org. A dedicated campaign site, built by the VML team, which allows people to listen to the stories of children who are waiting and sign their own children up for the NHS Organ Donor Register.

In the hero TV spot, a doll, representing Ralph, is shown sat alone in a waiting room while people pass by him. Other dolls are then shown sitting alone in other waiting rooms, while the ad reads ‘he is not alone’. We then return to Ralph, with the message: ‘You can help end the wait. Register yourself and your child as donors’. The soundtrack for the campaign was written and recorded exclusively for the campaign by Chloe Bruce-Gardyne.