Facebook Asks, "Are You An Organ Donor?"

In an effort to merge social responsibility with social media, Facebook recently unveiled a new type of status update for Timeline: are you an organ donor?

According to Mashable, the initiative aims to promote awareness for the staggering 114,000 people living in the U.S. (not to mention the millions abroad) who are currently in a state of waiting for a life-saving heart, kidney or liver transplant. 

Users can simply create a new "life event" via the Facebook Timeline, select the option for "Health & Wellness" then change the "Organ Donor" fields to reflect the date/location of your registration, with optional space for your own personal story. Those who haven't opted to become an organ donor will be directed to a list of local registries, encouraging more people to partake in what is undoubtedly a life-saving opportunity.

Facebook explained in a blog post:

“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,” continuing, “Medical experts believe that broader awareness about organ donation could go a long way toward solving this crisis.”

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