Facebook today added a feature that allows
users to identify themselves as organ donors and tell a story about why they
chose to donate. Those interested in donation, but not yet registered, will
find a link connecting them to the right place to sign up.
A Facebook promise alone is not a binding agreement, of course. In Ohio, donors can assure their wishes are followed by joining the state’s donor registry. That can be done at www.donatelifeohio.org.
To share your status on Facebook, go to “Life Event” on your timeline, then to “Health & Wellness.” There, you can add the year you became an organ donor or find registration information.
Robin Petersen-Webster, transplant coordinator at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, praised the feature and said that social media has an important role in organ donation. If this raises awareness, and encourages discussion, it just might boost the number of registered donors, she said.
About a dozen people who received their transplant at Ohio State found their donors through Facebook.
The need for organs far exceeds donations. As of yesterday, there were almost 114,000 Americans waiting for an organ. Most of them need a kidney, which can come from a living donor. Last year, 14,145 donors gave at least one organ, according to data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. A single donor can save eight lives.
A Facebook promise alone is not a binding agreement, of course. In Ohio, donors can assure their wishes are followed by joining the state’s donor registry. That can be done at www.donatelifeohio.org.
To share your status on Facebook, go to “Life Event” on your timeline, then to “Health & Wellness.” There, you can add the year you became an organ donor or find registration information.
Robin Petersen-Webster, transplant coordinator at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, praised the feature and said that social media has an important role in organ donation. If this raises awareness, and encourages discussion, it just might boost the number of registered donors, she said.
About a dozen people who received their transplant at Ohio State found their donors through Facebook.
The need for organs far exceeds donations. As of yesterday, there were almost 114,000 Americans waiting for an organ. Most of them need a kidney, which can come from a living donor. Last year, 14,145 donors gave at least one organ, according to data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. A single donor can save eight lives.
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