Swipe Right, Save a Life: Dating App Tinder Promotes Organ Donation

Location-based dating and social discovery application, Tinder, has joined forces with the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) to make it easier for users to register as organ donors.

For the next two weeks, this campaign will allow Tinder users to identify themselves as supporters of organ donation with a pink heart logo called The Wait on their profiles and only let other organ donation supporters swipe right — to discuss the shortage of vital organs over their first cup of coffee (or drink).

Those who actually match by swiping right will receive this special message, “If only it was that easy for those in need of a life-saving organ to find a match,” along with directions to the NHS to sign up as an organ donor.

Although this initiative was designed to promote organ donation awareness, the campaign had been used to at least once to unexpectedly and successfully match a donor with a recipient in sunny Florida.

Rich O’Dea, a single man from Tampa, FL., swiped right to meet an interesting date, Jennifer Thomas. After a few dates, O’Dea explaining his best friend’s wife, Erika Bragan’s, desperate need for a transplant.

And, something positive just clicked.

While O’Dea and Thomas ended up not being a love match, a string of tests confirmed Thomas was a perfect match for kidney donation. Bragan received her new kidney in November.

According to Sally John, Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation, NHS Blood and Transplant, remarked, “Educating and encouraging people to sign up for organ donation — that’s what our partnership with Tinder is all about. 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.”

Hermione Way, a Tinder spokesperson, had commented that the app is open to creating a similar partnership with health systems in the US.