More than half a million people have registered their organ donation decision for the first time via the NHS App, new data has shown.
According to NHS England, 546,825 organ donation decisions have been registered for the first time through the NHS App, up 22% from 448,562 last August.
The data – which has been highlighted during Organ Donation Week – has shown that 98,263 new organ donation decisions were registered through the app between September 2022 – August 2023.
There are currently 7,000 patients actively wait for a transplant.
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 new data also indicated that:
- More than 29.1 million repeat prescriptions were ordered through the app in the last year
- There have been more than 480,000 Covid vaccinations booked through the app since last November
- More than 13 million messages have been sent to NHS patients via the app from GP practices, hospitals and other services.
More than 32.3 million users have signed up to use the NHS App since it launched in 2018, equivalent to around 73% of the adult population.
Last week, an Ada Lovelace Institute researcher said GPs should be better involved in the development and implementation of the NHS App to better tackle digital inequity.
