The bra that could save your life.
If you were in a public place when someone’s heart stopped beating, would you be willing to give them CPR? Would it make any difference if they had breasts?
With women significantly less likely to receive bystander CPR, it’s clear that it makes a real difference to large numbers of the public.
This is a taboo that costs lives, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
No one should ever be afraid to save a life. Back in 2024, we created the CPR Bra to reassure people that taking fast action is always the right thing to do in a cardiac arrest emergency. This call to action has since been taken up by celebrities such as Nikki Sanderson, who saved her Mum’s life using CPR.
The bra began as an awareness-raising tool, but we heard from huge numbers of women eager to wear it. Now, you can.
Available exclusively through our partners boobydoo, you can now buy your own CPR Bra to help us ‘bust the taboo’ or read our free first aid advice on how to do CPR and use a defibrillator on someone with breasts.
When it comes to CPR, the gender gap is alarming:
1 in 3
people are afraid to give CPR to a woman in public because they are worried about touching breasts.
1 in 3
people are afraid to give CPR to a woman in public because they are worried about touching breasts.
Almost a third
of men said they would hesitate to perform CPR on a woman in public for fear of negative accusations.
1 in 5
men afraid to give women CPR for fear of social media backlash.
Big names, big voices
CPR Bra has the support of Hollyoaks and Coronation Street actor Nikki Sanderson, who knows firsthand how critical CPR can be.
'In 2021 my mum had a cardiac arrest, and we had to perform CPR until paramedics arrived. If we’d hesitated, she wouldn’t be here today… We need to remove these barriers so we can ‘bust the taboo’ because everyone deserves the same chance of survival.'
Our campaign is also supported by Millie Bright, Sharon Gaffka and Lucy Edwards who proudly championed the campaign when it first launched in 2024.
We’re proud that our 2026 campaign features real St John Ambulance volunteers, Hannah Coyne (Emergency Responder) and Chelle Byrne (Community First Aider). By placing women who are making a difference in their communities right at the centre, we hope to inspire confidence and action.
Help us bust the taboo
Thanks to our partners at boobydoo, you can now buy your own CPR Bra to help us ‘bust the taboo’ by wearing at home, at the gym, or out and about.
boobydoo are sports bra experts. They are known for their range of styles and sizes, their personalised bra fitting service and women’s education programmes.
We’re excited that they’ve combined their specialist knowledge with St John Ambulance's life-saving mission to help raise awareness of the gender CPR gap. The CPR bra is available to buy exclusively through the boobydoo website.
50% of the net profits from the sale of each CPR Bra are donated to St John Ambulance.
Don't wear a bra?
There are so many more ways you can help close the CPR gender gap.
The story of CPR Bra so far
We launched the CPR Bra campaign in October 2024. The initial CPR Bra was produced on a small scale - to reassure people that taking fast action is the right thing to do to save a life, regardless of gender.
The campaign was picked up by national media across the UK, including The Guardian, The Independent, and BBC Breakfast.
Campaign highlights
Reached 3.2 million people on social media in just three days
The campaign message was shared on over 200 billboards across England
More than 12,500 people read our online advice about how to give CPR to women
Partially inspired the WI’s “Bystanders can be lifesavers” campaign the following year, which partnered with us to provide thousands of women with first aid awareness sessions
59% of men said they were more likely to give CPR to a woman in public having seen or been made aware of the campaign.
