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Apple will use the iPhone to encourage new organ donors
Apple CEO Tim Cook knows firsthand the agony of watching a close friend wait for an organ transplant, so his company is doing something to help ease the shortage. With iOS 10, Apple will add a new button to the Health app that will allow users to enroll in with Donate Life America. That non-profit organization promotes organ donation and facilitates registries, including its own National Donate Life registry.
Doctors perform first penis transplant in the US
Thomas Manning from Halifax, Massachusetts lost most of his penis to a rare form of cancer in 2012. He likely never imagined he'd gain the organ back, but the 64-year-old bank courier has become America's first penis transplant recipient. A surgical team from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) performed the 15-hour operation on May 8th and 9th after perfecting their technique for three full years. Manning "continues to recover well, with blood flow established to the donor organ and no signs of bleeding, rejection or infection," the hospital said in a statement.
Memory of Steve Jobs helped inspire Facebook's organ donation initiative
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg told ABC's Good Morning America that it was a combination of ideas from his girlfriend and his friendship with Steve Jobs that prompted him to use Facebook as a platform for addressing organ shortage for patients in need of transplants. Zuckerberg said seeing how Jobs's liver transplant extended his life for years was part of what helped him decide to go ahead with Facebook's new organ donor promotion. As of April 30, Facebook users in the US and UK can indicate they are organ donors on their timelines. If people have not registered to be organ donors, they are directed to where they can do so.
Facebook adds organ donation to Timeline Life Events
In the off-chance you're among those bemoaning the limits of sharable personal information on Facebook, the social network has some good news. This time out, however, sharing is a bit more serious, potentially affecting the more than 114,000 people in the US alone who are waiting for an organ donation. Zuck and co. today announced that it has added organ donor status to its Timeline view. Users can add where and when they signed up and share their donation stories. "[W]e believe that by simply telling people that you're an organ donor, the power of sharing and connection can play an important role," the company wrote in a blog post today. You can also use the feature to find a link to an official donor registry in your area. For more info, check the source link below.
