Each day, 22 people in the US die waiting for an Organ Transplant. Due to this reason, Apple’s next software update for the iPhone will make it easier for users to register as organ donors.
The company is all set to add an organ donation registration option to Health’s app and allow users to Sign Up to Become organ, eye, and tissue donors. After signing up, the entire donor’s information will be sent directly to the National Donate Life Registry.
When iOS 10 is rolled out this fall, this feature will be available to the users, although the preview of the software is already available to iOS Developer Programs members at https://developer.apple.com.
In a statement, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook told Associated Press that the idea for this software came after Apple Co-Founder Steve Job died in 2011. The former CEO of Apple and Cook’s boss was suffering from a rare type of pancreatic cancer, but due to a shortage of organ donations, he has faced many difficulties.
“Watching and seeing him every day, waiting and not knowing — it stuck with me and left an impression that I’ll never forget,” Cook told The Associated Press. Eventually received a liver transplant in 2009 after enduring what Apple CEO Cook called an “excruciating” wait. Jobs even turned down the offer of a transplant from cook himself, according to one biography of the Apple Co-Founder.
“With the help of this app, we are providing education and awareness about organ donation and making it easier than ever to register,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, in a press statement. So, together with organ donation, Apple is excited to deliver this new feature to iPhone users in the US with iOS 10.
According to the National Kidney Foundation, currently, 121,678 people are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants in the US, with 100,791 of these in need of a kidney. Every day 22 people die in need of organs, and every 10 minutes, the patient in need of an organ gets admitted. The tech giant has teamed up with Donate Life America, and users can access critical health information with a Medical ID included in the app in case of emergency.
