Facebook Update 2012
05/02/2012
Donate Life America, the national organization dedicated to increasing the number of registered organ, eye and tissue donors that heal and save lives, has announced a major partnership with Facebook today, which aims to draw attention to the need for life saving transplants in the United States. Using the new “Timeline” feature, Facebook subscribers can now proudly display their status as an organ, eye and tissue donor on their page. Users that select that they have not yet registered to be a donor are taken to Donate Life America’s National Registration page for more information and to hopefully designate themselves as a donor.
This announcement comes on the heels of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles unveiling their “My DMV” portal on April 10th. The website now allows New Yorkers to register to be an organ, eye and tissue donor online. Prior to the introduction of this website, New Yorkers who wished to designate themselves as organ, eye and tissue donors could only do so in writing. Now, the combination of Facebook’s partnership with Donate Life America and the establishment of the “My DMV” portal will make it easier than ever for New Yorkers to designate themselves as registered donors.
“We have been consistently using Facebook to promote organ, eye and tissue donation at the Center for Donation & Transplant, but the announcement of this new partnership will reach many more of the 900 million users than we could ever hope to on our own,” said Lauren Quinn, Director of Hospital & Community Services for the Center for Donation & Transplant, “the combination of this initiative and the ability for New Yorkers specifically to complete their donor designation online will significantly increase the number of organ, eye and tissue donors in our state.”
There are currently 114,183 people awaiting a life saving transplant in the United States, including 10,148 New Yorkers, which account for almost 10% of the list. Conversely, only 18% of the over 18 population in New York state are registered organ, eye and tissue donors.
