Facebook urges its community to donate something much more personal than clothing and more valuable than money. The number one social network has teamed up with Donate Life America to launch a large-scale initiative, which is calling users to support the national organization by sharing that they are registered organ, eye and tissue donors and can help save lives of people in hospitals across the country. The new life-saving commitment was announced yesterday, May 1, by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in the exclusive interview on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’—he also was among the first to join the online philanthropic movement.
“Today, more than 114,000 people in the United States, and millions more around the globe, are waiting for the heart, kidney or liver transplant that will save their lives,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg, wrote in a statement. “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. Medical experts believe that broader awareness about organ donation could go a long way toward solving this crisis. And we believe that by simply telling people that you’re an organ donor, the power of sharing and connection can play an important role.”
To confirm he or she is a donor, a user should click the Life Event, which is next to Status, Photo and Place in the Timeline mode, go to the Health and Wellness section, choose the Organ donor option and then create a note by adding when and where he or she was registered. In case a user hasn’t registered yet, but wants to become a donor, there’s a link to the official donor registry. Users can share their new organ donor status with their friend on Facebook (they can also choose a group to show the update if they don’t want to show the news to all of people on their Friends list), the status is also added to their Timeline. The idea behind the initiative is simple: the more people will know you are a donor, the greater is the chance you can help save somebody’s life or help heal a patient.
«We can’t thank Facebook enough for the organization’s commitment to helping save lives by encouraging Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors. We are also grateful to ABC and ESPN for their dedication to this cause and for sharing this opportunity with their viewers. Thousands of lives will be saved or healed as a result of this initiative. We want to encourage every Facebook user to take a moment and update their Timeline, register to be a donor, and share their decision with family and friends. It is a simple way to provide hope for those in need,» commented David Fleming, President and CEO of Donate Life America.
Watch the video below to learn more about the initiative.