I have to admit, Facebook is doing something I can really get behind.
They want to lower the number of people who die each year waiting for an organ donation.
What? Facebook, the social network? Yes, indeedy.
More than 114,000 people in the United States, and millions more around the globe, are waiting for a donated organ that will save their lives.
Many of those people – an average of 18 people per day – will die waiting, because there simply aren’t enough organ donors to meet the need.
And Facebook is set on lowering that number, if not eradicating it all together. They have nearly one billion users. Even if they got only 10 percent to add that they are an organ donor to their Timeline, you have 80 million people who are setting an example.
Of course, that doesn’t mean all 80 million will become organ donors today, but it does mean awareness is being created and, as we all know, peer pressure does some amazing things sometimes.
The experts say people so publicly declaring they are organ donors could spur others to sign up at motor vehicle departments or online registries. But, more importantly, this could create an informal alternative to such registries that could lead to more organ donations.
That is because having it on your Facebook wall could provide the evidence of consent family members need when dealing with whether to donate the organs of a loved one.
The whole thing is a completely unselfish move – if something tragically happens to you, you make it easy on your family to make that decision and you save someone else’s life.
All you have to do is log into your Facebook account, click on your name, click on “life event” above your status bar, click on “health and wellness,” and you’ll find it in the first slot.
Seems to me like a no-brainer. I’m off to change my status to include the fact that I am an organ donor. Will you join me?
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