Fashion designer and activist Katharine Hamnett lends her support to organ donation urgent response with new ‘SAVE LIVES’ t-shirt

Fashion designer Katharine Hamnett, famed for her slogan t-shirts, has today (12 October 2026) revealed her latest design – 'SAVE LIVES', in support of organ donation.

The slogan t-shirt, donated to the campaign, in Katharine's signature style, has been designed to both encourage the public to confirm their organ donation decision and to support the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) Charity, through sales.

The collaboration comes at a crucial moment - the NHS recently announced urgent measures for organ donation, with the transplant waiting list at its highest ever level and a significant decline in the number of donations taking place.

Celebrities and influencers are backing our campaign to encourage the public to register their decision to donate. The T-shirts will be worn by celebrities and influencers who will share the campaign through their own social media channels and help encourage people to take action.

Let's save lives

About the T-shirt

A version of the T-shirt goes on sale from today, priced at £25. The T-shirts will be print-on-demand and made from organic cotton, with proceeds donated to the NHSBT Charity.

Proceeds from the T-shirts will help fund 2 important programmes for organ donation and transplantation:

Practical and emotional support for donor families across the UK, provided through NHSBT's Specialist Nurses for Organ Donation and the Donor Family Support service
Specialist organ perfusion and preservation technology to assess, preserve, and transport donated organs, enabling more people to receive lifesaving transplants

Your support will help transform the lives of patients who need a lifesaving transplant and give extra support for donor families.

Register or update your decision

Start now

Speaking on her decision to lend her support to organ donation, Katharine says:

"Partnering with NHS Blood and Transplant to raise awareness of organ donation was an easy decision and I'm pleased to lend my support to such an important campaign.

"We spend our lives looking for ways to make a difference. To leave things better than we found them. But right now, the NHS is facing its most critical shortage of organ donors in over a decade. Donations have plummeted in just 1 year, driving the UK transplant waiting list to a record high.

"There is one easy way to fix it and save lives and that is to register to be an organ donor. Organ donation is the ultimate humanitarian act. It costs nothing, it takes less than 2 minutes to add your name to the register and just 1 donor can save up to 9 lives. Take control. Confirm your decision today and SAVE LIVES."

Buy the SAVE LIVES T-shirt

Proceeds from the sale of this T-shirt will be donated to the NHS Blood and Transplant Charity, helping save and transform even more lives.

Go to purchase page

Statements

Statement from Anthony Clarkson

Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, says:

"We thank Katharine for lending her support to help raise awareness of the importance of organ donation. Katharine's t-shirt designs are powerful and SAVE LIVES will help to spread awareness even further.

"We're in a crucial time for organ donation at the moment – there are 8,700 people currently waiting for a transplant, which is the highest the list has ever been, but the number of people becoming donors is declining significantly. 9 people die every week because they don't receive an organ in time and we need to act now.

"Families are much more likely to agree to donation when they know what their loved one wanted. That's why we need one million people to confirm their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register before the end of the year. And once you've done that, do spread the word, too – maybe even with a SAVE LIVES t-shirt!"

Statement from Laura Barton

Laura Barton, NHSBT Assessment and Recovery Centres Programme Director, says:

"NHS Blood and Transplant is currently establishing a world leading UK wide programme of Assessment and Recovery Centres (ARCs) for selected donated lungs, livers, and kidneys, that would otherwise be unlikely to be transplanted. ARCs could unlock a step change in organ transplantation at a time when the transplant waiting is at an all-time high of more than 8,700 people. The ARCs programme plays an important part in the NHS' wider ambition to reduce health inequalities and harness the latest innovations.

"Additional perfusion technology for the ARCs programme, funded by this and other fundraising programmes, will help more generously donated organs to be assessed and preserved, increasing clinical confidence and improving organ utilisation. Crucially ensuring more donated organs reach suitable recipients and create more lifesaving transplant opportunities."

Disclaimer

Proceeds from the SAVE LIVES t-shirts, donated by Katharine Hamnett, will be treated as unrestricted, designated to support NHSBT Charity's greatest priorities for organ and tissue donation. Should these priorities be overfunded or another area becomes more urgent, monies donated by Katharine Hamnett will be redirected to where the need is greatest.