Apple and Donate Life America, a nonprofit alliance of national organizations dedicated to increasing the number of donated organs, have partnered to bring national organ donor registration to the iOS 10 iPhone, they announced today.
With the iOS 10 release, iPhone users can now sign up as organ, eye and tissue donors from the iPhone Health app. Submitted registrations are sent directly to the National Donate Life Registry, which is managed by Donate Life America.
“Apple’s mission has always been to create products that transform people’s lives,” Jeff Williams, chief operating officer of Apple, said in a statement. “With the updated Health app, we’re providing education and awareness about organ donation and making it easier than ever to register.”
“On average, one person dies every hour in the United States waiting for an organ transplant because the demand for lifesaving transplants far exceeds the available supply of organs – and one donor can save as many as eight lives,” David Fleming, president, CEO of Donate Life America, said in a statement.
The sign-up process also allows users to learn more about organ donation, while the Health app provides a complete health profile of the user. The app also contains a medical ID, which displays critical health information to first responders in an emergency. With iOS 10, this function will also contain donor information.
iOS 10 is currently available as a preview for developers; the public beta program will be available to users this month. According to Apple, iOS 10 will be available as a free software update in the fall.
“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,” Fleming said. “This is a huge step forward that will ultimately help save lives.”
