Hospital charity kiosk hosts organ donation sign-ups
A volunteer-run kiosk in a London hospital concourse has begun helping visitors register preferences for organ donation while they wait for clinics, turning short errands into simple admin as staff explain the NHS Organ Donor Register and show how to set choices on a personal device in a few minutes.
The shift meets a steady demand captured in NHS Blood and Transplant’s annual figures for 2023/24, which recorded 4,532 transplants across the UK and 1,429 deceased donors over the year, alongside a waiting list of just over 7,000 people at year-end—a workload that charities believe can be eased by more people confirming decisions in advance (source and window named below).
Volunteers report that many passers-by have heard of England’s opt-out law but have not set a recorded choice or told relatives; a staffed kiosk bridges that gap by walking people through the register on their phones and handing out printed “share your decision” cards so families know the preference before any crisis.
The model is designed to be unobtrusive: a small table near step-free entrances during outpatient peaks, laminated how-to sheets in the most requested languages, and a simple count of daily registrations so hospitals can judge whether the set-up is worth repeating in other sites or at weekend clinics.
Equity is part of the brief, with teams scheduling sessions around visiting hours and public-transport timetables so people who accompany relatives—often those least likely to have spare time for admin—can register a choice without needing to book a separate appointment or find a computer at home.
Day to day, the change looks modest but real: one person confirms they want to donate, another records a limited choice, a third opts out after discussion; over weeks, the hospital tracks whether the number of completed registrations rises in step with footfall through the concourse.
