Facebook organ donation push results in instant spike in donors

We have talked a bit about the new Facebook tool that allows users of the social network to sign up to become organ donors in their state. I’m sure I’m not the only one who wondered if the move by Google would result in an increase in organ donation registration. According to organ donor registries in 10 states the new Facebook tool has resulted in a significant increase in new donors.

According to the donor registries in two different states, on the first day after Facebook started the new organ donor initiative, the states recorded as many new donor registrations as they typically see in a month. By Tuesday night, the first day the new organ donation tool was in place, 100,000 people had declared that they were organ donors via their Facebook profile.

Out of the 100,000 people that said on their Facebook profiles that they were organ donors, 10,000 of that number link through Facebook to sign up directly with state organ donation registries. That means that the Facebook tool accounted for 10,000 registrations in a single day. Organ donation advocates think Facebook’s program could help save untold numbers of lives.

“I think it’s possible that we will see an impact over the next couple of years, where we would imagine eliminating the transplant waiting list,” Dr. Andrew Cameron, a transplant surgeon at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who helped bring the idea to Facebook, told ABC News.

[via ABC News]