Apple will give US users the ability to sign up as organ donors on their iPhones as part of its upcoming iOS 10 update.
The chief executive, Tim Cook, says he hopes the easy sign-up button in theHealth app will help ease a longstanding donor shortage in the US.
He said that the problem hit home when Apple co-founder Steve Jobs endured an “excruciating” wait for a liver transplant in 2009. Jobs died of pancreatic cancer in October 2011, aged 56.
Apple is adding the option to enroll in the US national donor registry by tapping a button within the iPhone’s Health app, which can be used to manage a variety of health and fitness data. The software will come to all US-based iPhones when the company updates its mobile operating system this autumn.
The move follows action by the US government to attempt to reduce long waiting lists for organ transplants, in which someone is added to the list every 10 minutes and 22 people die while waiting for life-saving transplants every day. – READ MORE
