On August 13, International Day of Organ Donation in Belgium, one of gaming’s most common moments, losing a life, was turned into a reminder that in the real world, you can give eight more.
The country’s new Virtual Donors campaign integrates organ donation directly into popular multiplayer games. In Minecraft, Baldur’s Gate 3 and Fortnite, players who register as real-world organ donors unlock a unique mod: when their character is eliminated, they gift eight extra lives to their teammates, reflecting the fact that one organ donor can save up to eight lives. It’s the first time organ donation has been woven into multiplayer gameplay. Players register via virtualdonors.org, then get access to the mod(s) to start saving lives both in-game and in real life.
The campaign was created pro bono by AKQA Brussels for Re-born to be Alive, a Belgian non-profit that promotes awareness around organ donation.
“Gamers lose lives all the time but only in pixels,” says Stephanie Keustermans, founder of Re-born to be Alive. “We wanted to turn that familiar moment into something that matters beyond the screen.”
Belgium already has an opt-out system for organ donation, but explicit registration remains crucial. Families can still overrule the decision if it’s not officially recorded. Right now, 1,474 people in Belgium are waiting for a life-saving transplant.
Popular Belgian streamers, including Rigor (Pieter Ongena), whose father received a donor organ and lived five more years as a result, are amplifying the mod live.
“In games, you get extra lives for free. In life, someone has to give them to you,” Rigor noted.
The Virtual Donors platform invites modders worldwide to create their own donor-themed mods for any game, spreading the message far beyond Belgium.
Sign up as a donor and download the Virtual Donor mods at www.virtualdonors.org.
Credits
Client: Re-born to be Alive
Clients: Raymond Van Ryckel, Stephanie Keustermans
Agency: AKQA Brussels
ECD: Peter Ampe
Creative Directors: John Benois, Kenn Van Lijsebeth
Creative: Familie Leysen
Account Team: Roozbeh Ahmadi
Design Director: Jan Sidgwick
Designer: Antoine Le Grelle
Head of Digital: Joachim François
Social Lead: Evelien Peeters
UX Designer: Wies Dickens
Web Development: Arno Van Biesen, Sebastiaan Weytjens, Judith Bosmans
Technical Producer: Gregory Pin
Head of Productions: Olivia Naudts
Producer: Thomas Taeymans
Post Production: AKQA Productions
Videographer: Sam De Backer
Editors: Sam De Backer & Ward Geerts
Head of PR: Anneleen Coppens
Senior PR manager NL: Astrid Jacobs
Senior PR manager FR: Alexandra Goffart
Special thanks to:
Tim Holland (Development Baldur’s Gate 3 Mod)
Euphoriax – Rune Vanhoucke & Aeon Bonjé (Development Fortnite Mod)
Damien & Hugues De Lombaert (Development Minecraft Mod)
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