Facebook's New Mission is to Save Lives!
Facebook's new mission is to prolong the lives of some who are in need of an organ donor by adding a new feature onto the social network that will allow people to share the fact that they are donors on their profile Timeline.
The comapany's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, appeared on Good Morning America today to announce and unveil this new feature that shows up under the "Heath & Wellness" tab of Life Events in the TimeLine.
Users can now add their status as an organ donor to the tab and explain their decision to do so to family and friends.
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Facebook will also link those wishing to become organ donors to register for their country so that they can sign up and find out how to become one.
Zuckerberg explained the origin of the idea to ABC's Robin Roberts, stating that it came from dinnertime chats with his girlfriend, who is currently attending medical school and training to become a pediatrician.
He also cited Steve Jobs as inspiration for the idea, highlighting that the late Apple CEO was a recipient of an organ that prolonged his life.
Before his death last year, Jobs lobbied for California to require those applying for driving licenses to say whether or not they wanted to be an organ donor.
The bill was actually signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in Oct. 2010. It made California the first state in the U.S. with a live kidney donor registry.
The new Facebook organ donor feature will initially only be available for users in the U.S. and the U.K. However, the company plans to roll out the feature to many other nations in the near future.
Zuckerberg is also scheduled to appear on "World News with Diane Sawyer" today to discuss more about this new feature.
