Please note: this campaign has now closed. Thank you to everyone who supported it!

In 2019, more than 720 dedicated NOhep supporters joined us to ask Google to mark World Hepatitis Day 2019 with a Google Doodle sketch of Barry Blumberg, the man who discovered the hepatitis B virus and developed the hepatitis B vaccine.

A Google Doodle is a temporary change to the Google logo on its homepages commemorating holidays, events, achievements and people. Since 2010, Google Doodles have also hyperlinked to search results for the subject of the Doodle, making them a great way to reach new audiences and raise awareness.

In 1964, Blumberg discovered the hepatitis B virus. Finding that hepatitis B can cause liver cancer, he and his team later developed a screening test, used to prevent transmission of the virus via infected blood donations. And then in 1969, he developed the vaccination for hepatitis B. This vaccine was the first-ever ‘cancer vaccine’. It has prevented more cancer deaths than any other intervention in history, and to ensure that as many lives were saved as possible Blumberg freely distributed his vaccine patent.

Blumberg’s work has made it possible for us to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030, making him the perfect ambassador for the NOhep movement on World Hepatitis Day!

While Dr Blumberg was not commemorated by Google on World Hepatitis Day 2019, we are hopeful that he will appear on the Google homepage in 2020!