We read news and information on a daily basis about individuals and
companies trampling on other people for the purpose of self gain, so it
is only right that proper credit is given out when it is due for large
We heard some murmurings yesterday from ABC about a new service which
Facebook would be rolling out to its users that had the power to save
lives, something that was taken with a pinch of salt until the company
officially removed the covers today. Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg
have used the official Facebook blog to unveil the new widget that
users can display on their profile pages to show that they are
registered organ donators. The new feature will allow Facebook members
to not only proclaim to the world that they are donators, but also
select their registered state, the date of registration and a brief
explanation of why they chose to donate their vital organs.
The obvious hope for the new feature is that awareness of the need
for donators will become more widespread, and to further boost this,
Facebook is also adding direct links that will allow interested members
to register as an organ donor in an attempt to try and save more lives
across the country/globe. The new features will fall under the standard Facebook privacy guidelines, meaning that visibility can be restricted through the usual manner.
The official Facebook news room post
discusses how the company has been amazed by how registered members of
the site use the provided tools to make an impact around the world and
address not only local community issues, but those that effect the
global community:
We never could have anticipated that what started as a small network would evolve into such a powerful tool for communication and problem solving. As this happens, we hope to build tools that help people transform the way we all solve worldwide social problems.
The United States alone contains over 114,000 people who are waiting
for a transplant of a major organ, and when that figure is added to the
many millions more around the world; it becomes evident why Facebook is
attempting to spread the word and reach a wider audience. The launch of
the widget is perhaps not what people would have anticipated when a life
saving new feature was teased, however the positive impact this could
have on the world is extremely significant.
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