At the beginning of May this year, Facebook introduced an incredible feature that allowed organ donors to connect with those requiring transplants. The noble initiative leverages the vast reach of Facebook’s user base and was inspired by Mark Zuckerberg’s relationship with his wife, a current medical student as well as his relationship with Steve Jobs who himself was the recipient of a liver transplant that extended his life.
The simple feature allows current organ donors to indicate their status on their Facebook timelines, thereby making the news network knowledge. For those who are not currently donors, links to donation registries are available for instant enrollment.
Originally launched in the U.S. and Great Britain, the feature has been added for 12 other countries including Canada. The extension of the tool was announced Tuesday by Facebook Canada’s managing director Jordan Banks in a press conference with Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq. A special guest was also present at the conference, double lung transplant recipient Helene Campbell of Ottawa, Ontario.
The feature is addable by any Facebook user by simply adding a ‘Life Event’ to their timeline via the Health & Wellness option. There are currently upwards of 4,500 Canadians on donation lists for heart, liver, kidney and other vital organ transplants.
The new feature is expected to raise a great deal of awareness and allow donors to state their status, perhaps even inspiring friends and family to make the same decision to potentially save a fellow citizen’s life. Hopefully the tool will aid Ontario in reaching its annual target of 300,000 new organ donor registrations, a figure that stands at 66,000 as of Tuesday.
SOURCE: Financial Post
PHOTO: markblevis.com
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