Facebook hopes that this will raise more awareness on the matter

May 1, 2012 13:34 GMT  ·  By

Facebook is getting ready for its IPO so it's putting on a good show, not that it really needs it. With great fanfare and on national television, Mark Zuckerberg himself announced that Facebook users could now announce to the world that they are organ donors.

Apparently, this will contribute to the greater good and prove that adding a "social" component to anything is a good thing. Oh, and it raises awareness of the problem, a noble goal to be sure since "awareness" must be raised whenever possible.

"Starting today, you can add that you’re an organ donor to your timeline, and share your story about when, where or why you decided to become a donor," Facebook announced.

"If you’re not already registered with your state or national registry and want to be, you’ll find a link to the official donor registry there as well," it added.

Having the status of "organ donor" on your Timeline will supposedly spur others to do the same. Feeling good about yourself is certainly appealing and having the things that make you better than others waved in their faces is a simple way of achieving this.

Obviously, organ donation is a serious thing. Too many people die since they can't get the organs they need. Doing anything that gets more people to help others, especially with something that has such an immediate impact, is a good thing.

Peer pressure isn't the best way of going about things, but maybe it's necessary if the end result is worth it. At the very least, Facebook's latest initiative can't make things worse.

"Today, more than 114,000 people in the United States, and millions more around the globe, are waiting for the heart, kidney or liver transplant that will save their lives. Many of those people – an average of 18 people per day – will die waiting, because there simply aren’t enough organ donors to meet the need," Facebook explained.