With just a few taps of your iPhone screen, you could save a life.
If that statement sounds like an exaggeration, it may not be. According to the Associated Press , Apple has included the option to be an organ donor on the latest iPhone iOS update.
“[Apple] CEO Tim Cook says he hopes the new software, set for limited release this month, will help ease a critical and longstanding donor shortage. He said the problem hit home when his friend and former boss, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, endured an ‘excruciating’ wait for a liver transplant in 2009.”
“‘Watching and seeing him every day, waiting and not knowing — it stuck with me and left an impression that I’ll never forget,’ Cook told The Associated Press. Cook was so concerned that he offered to donate part of his own liver, although Jobs refused.”
Even though Jobs died in 2009 of cancer, the memory of that situation has never left Cook, according to the Associated Press . With the introduction of this new iOS update, Cook said he hopes to eliminate the same problems Jobs faced as he came closer and closer to death.
According to Yibada , scores of Americans die each day awaiting organ transplants. Outside the United States, the numbers are likely higher, though statistics were not immediately available.
“About one person dies every hour in the United States while waiting for an organ transplant, as the demand for lifesaving transplants is far more compared to the available supply of organs, Donate Life America President and CEO David Fleming said in a press release issued by Apple recently. He further said that with Apple bringing the National Donate Life Registry to the Health app on iPhone, it will be easier for people to find out about organ, eye and tissue donation and register quickly.”
Yibada goes on to report that about 120,000 Americans are currently on wait lists for donated organs with a new person added to wait lists every 10 seconds.
So how can a first responder use an iPhone to access the organ donation app on a patient’s phones? According to ABC News , it is quite easy to access.
“ Apple’s Medical ID can be accessed from a locked iPhone screen, allowing first responders to gain valuable information about a person in the event of an emergency, including contacts, blood type, medical conditions and allergies,” the news organization reported.
To access the app yourself and fill out the information to be an organ donor, you simply need to access the “Health” app pre-installed on all new iOS versions.
Beyond the iPhone organ donation feature, the health apps pre-installed on iPhones can provide much more important information. If you are like me, you use the health app to track your daily steps, flights of stairs, and miles walked or ran. It is a free and easy way to track progress if you are trying to get fit or just simply be healthier.
BGR reports there are other features beyond iPhone organ donation and mileage tracking you can accomplish with your health app for iPhone.
“Apple’s health app now includes a sleep analysis feature that lets you better manage your sleep. However, it doesn’t offer advanced sleep analysis and it doesn’t optimize your wake up time like some popular apps do, or at least not in this version of the app. Sleep Cycle is a much better choice until then.”
With the new features available on the health app, Apple is likely to see more usage. But it will likely be several months or years before it is known whether Apple has made a dent in organ donations in the United States and worldwide.
[Image by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images]