Social Media can Greatly Improve Reach of Organ and Tissue Donation Program

A new study by American researchers reveals that harnessing the power of social networking sites such as Facebook could greatly increase the number of people registering to become organ and tissue donors after their death.

Researchers Blair L. Sadler and Alfred M. Sadler, Jr., in a commentary in Bioethics Forum, the blog of the Hastings Center Report, analyzed the "Facebook effect" on donation.

A Second Chance at Life: Tissue and Organ Transplantation
Organ and tissue transplantation can give a second chance at life to thousands of people. Learn more about this interesting procedure.

"By the end of the day of the announcement, 6,000 people had enrolled through 22 state registries," the Sadlers wrote.

The Sadlers, Founding Fellows of The Hastings Center, helped draft the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, established in 1968 to standardize state laws on the donation of organs and tissue after death.

Their commentary tracks the response to Facebook's introduction, on May 1, of a feature that lets people state their wishes to become donors in an attempt to reduce the long waiting lists for organs and tissue.

About Transplantation
Since the early times, the novel idea of transplanting tissues and other body parts from one organism to the other has captured the imagination of successive generations.

After two weeks, the rate of registration returned to previous levels, but the Sadlers suggested several strategies for harnessing the full potential of social media to achieve a sustained increase in registration.

"Perhaps missing is the repeated cuing that can help drive individual action. An annual day to celebrate registered organ donors would be one way to enhance cuing. Asking state donor organizations to provide Facebook with real-time updates on the growing number of registered donors might be another," they wrote.

Bone Marrow Transplantation - Types - Procedure - Indications - Complications
Preferred Term is Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In this stem cell from bone marrow are injected into a recipient after treating them with growth factor.

"State registries could include social sharing on their sites, so that once a person joins the registry, he or she has the option to share this information via Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks which should drive awareness among friends and family," they concluded.

The Sadlers also suggested that social media companies allow donor registries to advertise at no cost.

Liver Transplantation - Facts, Contraindications, Procedure, Follow up, Complications & Prognosis
Liver transplantation is a surgical option for the treatment of liver failure where the diseased liver is replaced with a healthy one.

"Facebook has challenged other technology companies to show corporate leadership and has demonstrated the power of social media to encourage altruism," the said.

Source-ANI