Facebook Now Allowing Users to Post if they are Organ Donors

Organ Donation Status Through Facebook 

Social media is changing the world we live in today. It is replacing our forms of communication by implementing chat, news feeds, and walls to receive information faster about people and the most recent news in today’s society. Social media sites such as Facebook are adding new features to make their social media site better than the rest. Being a member of Facebook, I have been able to see new features coming and going, but nothing compared to this. Have you ever had a friend or family member that has needed an organ donation? As of May 2012, Facebook has added a new edition to their social media site, organ donation. This might sound crazy why users of Facebook would want to post their organ donation status, but if they are capable of sharing their birth date, photos, and personal information, what’s one more personal fact?

100,000 Users Declaring Their Organ Donation Status 

 7,000 people in the United States die each year while waiting for an organ transplant. The goal is for Facebook to lower this death rate with the 161 million members. Facebook is a major form of advertising and marketing for companies, so why not encourage users to advertise their donor status to save a life. There are currently 114,000 people waiting for organ transplants. Researchers from Loyola University Medical Center examined 91 Facebook pages and found that 12% of the pages were receiving kidney transplant and 30% reported potential matches for organ donation. When Facebook released the new feature to their site in May 2012, 100,000 users declared themselves organ donors. These donors came from Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Wyoming.

How to Sign Up and is the Program Working? 

On your Timeline there is a life event option where you enter status updates. Click on that, and then Health and Wellness, there should be an organ donation option. Select this option and then there will be a pop up that allows you to select your state, when you became an organ donor, and a personal story about why you became an organ donor. Then you can select who can see this information either public, friends, or custom, then select save. Can Facebook Solve the organ donor crisis? The answer is yet to be made because this is such a new feature for the website. It’s fascinating how a social media site that was designed to keep users in touch with family members and friends has become a place to save the lives of others throughout society. Some might think this is too invasive, but people already put too much information out there about themselves. Mark Zuckerberg said, “We believe by simply telling people you’re an organ donor, the power of sharing and connection can play an important role.” Mark Zuckerberg is right. Throughout our society your organ donation status is printed on your license but this is hidden in your wallet and tucked away. In this technologically changing world, why not use our resources and make it public? Make it known that you want to save a life.