As MMW reported Tuesday, Facebook wants to make it easier for its nearly 1 billion members to sign up to become organ donors.
“Starting today,” Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced yesterday, “you can add that you’re an organ donor to your timeline, and share your story about when, where or why you decided to become a donor. If you’re not already registered with your state or national registry and want to be, you’ll find a link to the official donor registry there as well.”
As more details about the new effort come to light, few are surprised to learn that Zuckerberg was partially inspired to launch this effort through his friendship with late Apple chief Steve Jobs.
Jobs, after all, was the recipient of a life-saving liver transplant several years ago.
“That definitely, I think, was something that we all had in mind as we were building this out,” Zuckerberg told ABC news. “His story is just one of many, of people who both were able to have an organ transplant that made his life longer, and he was extremely thankful for that.”
And there’s no telling just how many people will be thankful in the years to come from Facebook’s organ donor push.
As of Wednesday morning, more than 100,000 people shared their organ donor status on the social network with nearly 20% of those individuals subsequently visiting the website of Facebook partner Donate Life America, which helps to register organ donors in their respective states.
