The UK National Health Service (NHS) is celebrating after organ donor registration jumped by 22%, via the NHS app.
Following Organ Donation Week, the NHS is urging people across the UK to register an organ donation decision via the NHS app after it registered 98,263 new organ donation decisions between September 2022 and September 2023.
The NHS app was launched back in 2018 as a means of allowing trust and authorities to provide healthcare information and services, removing the need for in-person or over-the-phone interaction for a number of services.
NHS England’s delivery director for the NHS app, Martin O’Neil, said: “In a time when more than 7,000 patients are actively waiting for a transplant, it’s really encouraging to see that the total number of organ donation decisions registered for the first time through the NHS App has increased by over 20% in this last year.
“This is an important decision to make, and another way in which the NHS App is helping patients to manage their choices and access healthcare.”
The total number of organ donation decisions registered through the app increased by more than a fifth over the last year to 546,825, up 22% from 448,562 in August.
At the same time, the NHS has boasted that the app has seen 2.8 million sign-ups since its launch in December 2018. At the same time around 13 million messages have been delivered to NHS patients in the NHS App from GP surgeries, hospitals and national services.
O’Neil added: “The NHS App has now had more than 32 million sign-ups across England and is used by people of all ages – from students starting at university and needing to register with a GP to older people using it to order a repeat prescription without the need to make a trip to their GP.”
The app has also facilitated many Covid-19 vaccinations with more than 480,000 COVID vaccinations booked on the app since November 2022.
NHS England’s National Director for Transformation Vin Diwakar said: “Organ transplantation is one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine – with nearly 4,600 transplants facilitated across the UK last year. With more than 7,000 currently on the waiting list, there is however still lots to do.
“The fact that the NHS App is already sitting in the pockets of millions of people means it’s never been easier to make an informed decision on organ donation. And it’s fantastic to see more than half a million people have already done just that.”
