The forthcoming version 10 of Apple iOS mobile operating system will allow iPhone users in the U.S. to register for organ donation through Apple’s consumer-facing Health app. This program is courtesy of a new partnership with Donate Life America, a nonprofit that manages a registry for organ donation, and reportedly is a tip of the hat to Steve Jobs.
Within the Health app, people will be given the option to sign up to be an organ, tissue and eye donor. Registrations will be sent directly to the Donate Life Registry, which Richmond, Virginia-based Donate Life America manages. It’s essentially a digital answer to the organ donation stickers on state-issued driver’s licenses.
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“By working with Apple to bring the National Donate Life Registry to the Health app on iPhone, we’re making it easier for people to find out about organ, eye and tissue donation and quickly register. This is a huge step forward that will ultimately help save lives,” David Fleming, president and CEO of Donate Life America, said in a statement released by Apple.
“With the updated Health app, we’re providing education and awareness about organ donation and making it easier than ever to register. It’s a simple process that takes just a few seconds and could help save up to eight lives,” Apple COO Jeff Williams added. He was referring to the fact that organs from each donor can help as many as eight people.
Donate Life America said that 120,000 people in the U.S. are in need of a transplant, and someone gets added to the waiting list every 10 minutes.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told the Associated Press that he was inspired by his former boss, Jobs. The late Apple founder had a liver transplant in 2009, two years before dying of complications from pancreatic cancer.
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“Watching and seeing him every day, waiting and not knowing — it stuck with me and left an impression that I’ll never forget,” Cook is quoted as saying.
In praising the move by Apple and Donate Life America, the National Kidney Foundation said that there are more than 100,000 people waiting for kidney donations alone. But only 18,000 kidney transplants were performed in 2015 in the U.S.
“The announcement today by Donate Life America and Apple to provide an organ donation sign-up process through the iPhone Health app not only marks an important step towards increasing organ donation, it further demonstrates the key role technology can play in helping solve urgent health issues. Tapping into the way Americans use technology to reach a new audience of people who may never have considered organ donation before is a critical element to shortening the wait list,” National Kidney Foundation CEO Kevin Longino said.
iOS 10 is currently only available to registered iOS developers, though a public beta program launches this month, according to Apple. The general release is planned for the fall.
Photo: Apple
