Florida’s Organ and Tissue Donor Registry Reaches 9 Million Registered Donors
Sarasota, Fla. (October 4, 2016) – This week, it became official that more than 9 million Floridians have registered as organ, eye and tissue donors on Florida’s Joshua Abbott Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. This landmark achievement continues Florida’s accomplishment of maintaining the second largest donor registry in the country, second only to California.
“Florida’s registry strives to give hope to the more than 120,000 men, women and children awaiting the gift of a lifesaving organ transplant in the United States today,” says Erin Morton, chairwoman of Donate Life Florida, the organization responsible for managing the registry. “More than 5,500 of those patients in need are in Florida, and tens of thousands more could benefit from life-enhancing eye and tissue transplantation. We are so grateful to those nine million Floridians who one day may each save as many as eight lives and impact dozens more.”
This milestone achievement was reached due in large part to the recent launch of Apple’s iOS 10, which allows users in Florida to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor through the Medical ID tab of the Health app. All registrations submitted from the iPhone are sent directly to the National Donate Life America registry and merged with the Donate Life Florida registry. Since iOS 10 launched on September 13th, more than 18,000 people in Florida have registered through their phones and the Health app.
Traditionally, 95 percent of Floridians register their wishes as organ, eye and tissue donors when they receive or renew their driver license or state identification card and are asked, “Would you like to be an organ donor?” This new registration process will allow Floridians to document their wishes in an easier and more convenient manner.
“Apple’s mission has always been to create products that transform people’s lives. With the updated Health app, we’re providing education and awareness about organ donation and making it easier than ever to register. It’s a simple process that takes just a few seconds and could help save up to eight lives,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer.
Donate Life Florida is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering the public to save and enhance lives through organ, eye and tissue donation. For more information, please visit www.DonateLifeFlorida.org or call 1-877-FL-SHARE.
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