Last week, Facebook unveiled their new “organ donor” feature for users in the UK and US. Today, they rolled out the same feature for Australian users.
The purpose behind this new feature is to make it easier for people to find organ donors and save lives. Facebook users who are interested in donating their organs after they die can easily sign up to organ donor registries through the social media website.
Even thought this feature still fairly new, it has already proven to be quite a success in parts of the United States(California registrant rate went up to 800) and the United Kingdom (NHS sign-ups tripled within the Facebook launch).
Facebook’s head of policy and communications in Australia/New Zealand Mia Garlick recently explained to the Australian Associated Press that this life-saving feature is a good thing. She claimed that they talked to medical experts and they agreed that promoting the awareness of organ donation will encourage more donor signups.
Australia’s organ donation app is linked to DonateLife Australia, a government based website that provide statistics and facts about organ donation.
The new feature allow users to not only share their organ donor status but also the date they officially registered and the inspirational reason/story behind the registration(if they choose to share it).
Organ donation saves lives and now thanks to social media website like Facebook, finding the right donor may be a little easier for those who desperately need it. This feature will also make it easier for people to express their desire to donate their organs in case they should die. According to a recent statement from Catherine King (the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing) , one in four Australian citizens never discuss organ or tissue donation wishes with family members.
Facebook’s new feature is a real life-saver and it’s probably going to be the catalyst for more groundbreaking achievements in social media.
