AKQA Brussels: Re-born to be Alive turns losing a life in games into saving lives in reality

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.”

Baldursgate 3

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.

Minecraft

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.

Fortnite

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 GrelleHead of Digital: Joachim François ​​Social Lead: Evelien Peeters​UX Designer: Wies Dickens​Web Development: Arno Van Biesen, Sebastiaan Weytjens, Judith Bosmans​Technical Producer: Gregory PinHead 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 GoffartSpecial 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)​Adshot.io​Rafbanaan/RobPlays/jNoxxx/Jerre