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Apple To Encourage Organ Donation With Health App (cnet.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Apple announced today that its updated Health app, which will be available as part of iOS 10, will allow people to sign-up to be organ donors. The app will use its Medical ID feature, which has been used in the past to keep track of medical and health information, to include the ability to register as a donor of organs, eyes and tissues. The registrations will be forwarded to the National Donate Life Registry, an organization managed by Donate Life of America. All you need to do is tap the registration button in the Health app to volunteer as an organ donor. That adds your status as a donor to an "emergency information" screen that can appear even when the phone is locked. Tapping another button brings up information on organ donation. The demand for organs greatly exceeds the supply, as more than 120,000 Americans are currently waiting for a transplant -- every 10 minutes a new person is added to that waiting list, according to Apple. The feature is currently available for developers, but will be rolling out to the public in the public beta soon.
I wish that organ donating was an opt out system instead of an opt in system. It's not like anyone will miss their organs anyway.
"If you are an organ donor, then they take extra steps to make sure you are really dead."
Nurse: Here's one.
Organ Collector: Nine pence.
Organ Donor: I'm not dead.
Organ Collector: What?
Nurse: Nothing. [hands the collector his money] There's your nine pence.
Organ Donor: I'm not dead!
Organ Collector: 'Ere, he says he's not dead.
Nurse: Yes he is.
Organ Donor: I'm not.
Organ Collector: He isn't.
Nurse: Well, he will be soon, he's very ill.
Organ Donor: I'm getting better.
Nurse: No you're not, you'll be stone dead in a moment.
Organ Collector: Well, I can't take him like that. It's against regulations.
Organ Donor: I don't want to go on the cart.
Nurse:' Oh, don't be such a baby.
Organ Collector: I can't take him.
Organ Donor: I feel fine.
Nurse: Oh, do me a favor.
Organ Collector: I can't.
Nurse: Well, can you hang around for a couple of minutes? He won't be long.
Organ Collector: I promised I'd be at the Robinsons'. They've lost nine today.
Nurse: Well, when's your next round?
Organ Collector: Thursday.
Organ Donor: I think I'll go for a walk.
Nurse: You're not fooling anyone, you know. Isn't there anything you could do?
Organ Donor: I feel happy. I feel happy.
[The collector paces for an idea, then whacks the body with his club, solving the problem]
Nurse: Ah, thank you very much.
Organ Collector: Not at all. See you on Thursday.
Nurse: Right.
Just being in a hospital is dangerous. Medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in this country. I bet the AMA doesn't brag about that stat!
Thanks, but no thanks. I intend to leave this world with the same parts I had when I came into it.