Swiping right could help save lives in the United Kingdom in the coming weeks. The dating app Tinder has hooked up with The National Health Service on a campaign called The Wait, designed to spread awareness about the importance of organ donation. For the next two weeks, Tinder will give U.K. users the option to do more than hook up with hot strangers; users can also use the platform to become an organ donor (both dignified acts of selfless charity, we're sure you'll agree).
The NHS has reported that there are just under 7,000 people currently on the U.K. transplant waiting list, and in the past decade, more than 6,000 people across the U.K. have died while waiting for an operation. The number of young people who pledge to become organ donors after death has fallen for the first time in more than a decade. In a bid to change that, some of Tinder’s high-profile users will feature The Wait logo on their pages, to draw attention to the importance of organ donations. If you swipe right on these special profiles, you’ll receive a message that says: "If only it was that easy for those in need of a life-saving organ to find a match.” Several British celebrities are already on board, including Olympic gold medalist Jade Jones, Emmerdale's Gemma Oaten, and Made In Chelsea’s Jamie Lain.
"Tinder users regularly make the decision to swipe left or right, wondering whether someone may be the person they are looking for," Hermione Way, Tinder's head of European communications, told the BBC. "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."
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