NHS Dreams Up Dolls Representing Real Children Waiting To Be Gifted Organs

Image courtesy of Wunderman Thompson UK

These dolls have a story, and it’s hoped that it will be one that lasts for years to come.

To underscore the urgent need for child organ donors in the UK, NHS Blood & Transplant and marketing communications agency Wunderman Thompson UK have launched a stirring initiative, called Waiting to Live, where hundreds of handmade dolls have been created to mirror the children on the organ donation waiting list this Christmas.

As children everywhere await Santa’s arrival, more than 230 kids in the UK are longing to be gifted a new lease of life and are hoping to receive life-saving organ transplants. According to the National Health Service (NHS), in the 2021/22 period, only 52% of approached families consented to donate their child’s organs, amounting to just 40 donors under 18. However, families of children already on the NHS Organ Donation Register did not refuse the offers, indicating the importance of awareness and registration.

To raise awareness, the Waiting to Live campaign, launched on November 21, features over 230 dolls symbolizing children on the waiting list. These characters have been lovingly crafted by more than 140 makers and are displayed in waiting rooms of major transplant hubs like Great Ormond Street Hospital and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Many dolls are modeled after real children on the list, incorporating personal elements like favorite clothes or hobbies to illustrate the breadth of these lives. Among them is a depiction of Ralph, the son of Wunderman Thompson employee Katie, who is seen donning the boy’s favorite lightning bolt T-shirt and holding a toy car.

Image courtesy of Wunderman Thompson UK

Ralph’s story is further highlighted in a television spot where his representative doll is shown sitting alone in a waiting room, emphasizing the loneliness and urgency of the situation.

Other children who have had dolls crafted in their likenesses include Ava, whose character reflects her adoration for bears with a bear suit, and Pablo, whose doll wears a karate outfit in reference to his hobby.

Video screenshots via Wunderman Thompson UK

Each mini-me is equipped with a badge containing a QR code that directs to the dedicated Waiting to Live website, where visitors can hear the stories of young patients in the queue and register their own children on the NHS’ Organ Donor Register.

Creative leads Laura Saraiva and Charli Plant at Wunderman Thompson UK express the emotional weight of this activation, and they hope it brings justice to the families’ stories.

Image courtesy of Wunderman Thompson UK

“This has been one of the most emotionally challenging but most rewarding campaigns we have ever worked on,” they detail in a shared statement. “Children on the transplant list wait for months, sometimes years, but this isn’t something that many people are aware of.”

Image via Waiting to Live

“For many children on the transplant waiting list, their only hope is the parent of another child saying ‘yes’ to organ donation at a time of immense sadness and personal grief,” expresses Angie Scales, lead nurse for pediatric organ donation at NHS Blood and Transplant. “Yet families tell us that agreeing to organ donation can also be a source of great comfort and pride.”

Scales continues: “By encouraging more young people and their families to confirm their support for organ donation on the NHS Organ Donor Register, we hope to be able to save more lives of children, both today and in the future.”

The campaign is bolstered by other agencies under the WPP umbrella, including communications firm BCW and media agency Wavemaker.

It’s a poignant reminder of the lives hanging in the balance and the power of organ donation to transform and save young lives.

[via Waiting to Live, images courtesy of Wunderman Thompson UK]