NHSBT wanted a campaign to recruit more people to pledge to organ donation. With tens of thousands of people waiting years for news of a potential organ match, and many dying before that is possible, the need is acute.

For those in such a position, the wait for news goes on unseen, behind closed doors. It is a life and death drama, waiting for a phone call, where nothing happens. I wanted to capture ‘the wait’ to make the ‘world’s longest ad’ and give a voice to those suffering in silence.

NHBT found Simon Howell, a former doctor, who was now housebound due to his illness. Working with the incredible Howell family ‘The Wait’ was their story and the ned result was a 14-hour film, captured over a single day. It may have been painful to watch, a man sitting on a sofa, making tea, and shuffling between rooms all day, but that was just one day in the seven years Simon had been living like this waiting for a kidney donor.

The Wait was premiered at a London cinema in Leicester Square for media and the public, with the Howell family in attendance – and a lead item on both ITN national and London news, with features in The Sun, Daily Express and Daily Mail.

The Wait went on to win a number of awards including the PR Moment and EMEA Sabre for Best Use of Content.

Two years later, thanks to the work of NHSBT, Simon Howell finally got a call to say a donor had been found.