7 Statistics About ‘Grey’s Anatomy’s Impact on Viewers (PHOTOS)
43 percent
The increase in telephone calls to the RAINN sexual assault hotline in the 48 hours after “Silent All These Years” ended with Ellen Pompeo telling viewers about the hotline, according to a study published this month.
36
The age Wisconsin woman Kandace Seyferth was when she survived a heart attack in 2011, thanks in part to her daughter and her daughter’s friend administering CPR they learned by watching Grey’s Anatomy.
3
The number of children who still have a mother after Israeli breast cancer survivor Sarit Fishbaine saw a Grey’s Anatomy episode about a mother whose cancer was initially mistaken for breastmilk. Fishbaine got a second opinion the day after watching the episode and learned she had cancer.
October 7, 2018
The date Sarah Drew (April Kepner) and Justin Chambers (Alex Karev), seen here with Grey’s alum T.R. Knight, appeared at the Rape Foundation’s annual brunch alongside a sexual assault survivor who said Grey’s Anatomy may have saved her life after she humanized herself to her attacker, a tactic she learned from the Season 6 finale, when April talked down gunman Gary Clark.
3
The number of women who appeared in a 2017 Good Morning America segment, thanking Ellen Pompeo (Meredith Grey) for inspiring them to become medical professionals. One of the women, Laura Tiu, RN, MSN, even played a nurse on the show.
17 percent
The percentage of Grey’s Anatomy viewers who were inspired to find more information or speak to medical professionals about an issue they saw on the show, according to a 2008 study.
45 percent
The percentage of viewers who, in the same study, knew that HIV-positive women have a 98 percent chance of having a healthy baby with the right treatment, six weeks after the fact was discussed in a Grey’s episode. Before the episode aired, only 15 percent of the same group had that knowledge.
Grey’s Anatomy isn’t just one of the longest-running dramas in television history; it’s also one of the most influential.
Recent episodes have raised awareness of domestic violence, sexual assault, police brutality, heart attack risks for women of color, and the failing health care system. And a recent study highlighted the amazing legacy of Season 15’s groundbreaking “Silent All These Years” installment.
Flip through the slides above for details on that episode and other stats that prove Grey’s deserves all the attention it has gotten over the past decade and a half.
Grey’s Anatomy, Season 16 Returns, Thursday, January 23, 9/8c, ABC
