Organ Donation

Key Partners

Millions of people have added their names to the NHS Organ Donor Register through schemes run by our campaign partners.

DVLA

Our very first partner - the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) - is also our biggest and most active.

Key to the success of the register was the decision to enable people to add their name through a tick box on the DVLA driving licence application form. The scheme has been used by more than 6 million people to make their wishes known.

In 2004 the DVLA agreed to mail registration forms with 15 million vehicle tax licence reminders. The scheme was so successful that a further 6.3 million forms were mailed with reminders during June and July 2006. To date these "piggyback" mailings have enabled more than 112,000 people to register their wishes to "give the gift of life" after their death.

DVLA Northern Ireland

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency Northern Ireland (DVLA NI) has had a tick box on the driving licence application form since 1995, which has supplied a steady source of registrations.

In addition, in 2006 DVLA NI agreed to mail 1.4 million registration forms with driving licences (and driving licence reminders) and with vehicle tax reminders during 2006-07.

Family Doctors

The form that patients complete when they need to register with a new doctor or GP surgery includes a tick box giving people the opportunity to join the NHS Organ Donor Register.

The scheme has been running since April 1995 - and more than 3.4 million people have registered their wishes in this way.

Boots

Boots the Chemists provide a unique opportunity on the high street for people to join the NHS Organ Donor Register. Anyone applying for a Boots Advantage Card can also join the register by ticking a box on the application form. Since the scheme started in 2000 nearly 1.5 million people have applied to join the register through the scheme.

Boots have also done in-store activity during National Transplant Week and supported the black organ donation campaign by displaying leaflets in their stores.

Passport Agency

The UK Passport Agency sends an organ donation leaflet with every new passport. More than 215,000 people have chosen to leave a legacy of life in this way since the scheme was introduced in 1996.

EHIC

The Department of Health have been including organ donation registration forms with their mailing of European Insurance Health Cards (EHIC) since they began this scheme in July 2005.

In the first year of the scheme more than 9 million forms were mailed out, and in the second year (2006-07) we expect to send out more than 3 million forms through this route.