Facebook feature boosts organ donor registry

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Facebook is always adding new features. But this time, the social networking site is credited with saving lives.

You can now register through Facebook to be an organ donor. And one local organization has already seen a spike in registrations.

Sam Davis, director of professional services for Indiana’s Organ Procurement Organization, said the group has had about 1,400 online donor registrations since the announcement Tuesday of the new Facebook feature.

“That is not typical of what we see in a day,” Davis said. “Usually it is somewhere between 200-300 per day. Some days it is less than that.”

Every day, 18 people die waiting for an organ transplant. Tuesday, Facebook CEO's said he wants to change that. So now, Facebook allows you to add a notice to your timeline that you are an organ donor.

Deborah Jones, a recipient of a donated organ, hopes the trend continues. Someone else’s generosity saved her life eight years ago.

“It got to the point where I was going to die. That was it!” she said. “They told me there was nothing else they could do for me.”

Now, the 65-year-old still needs an oxygen concentrator to help her breathe. She received a right lung a short time after doctors diagnosed here with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She considers herself lucky.

“Then, I was so (weak) it took everything in me to get dressed and out the door,” she said. “Now, I don't stay home very much.”

So if you want to register as an organ donor, how do you do it?

First, go to your timeline. Then, click on life event. Select health and wellness, and choose organ donor. Facebook allows you to add where and when you registered. Plus, you can include a personal story.

And if you have not already officially signed up as an organ donor, you can sign up with the appropriate registry by clicking on a link from Facebook.