iOS 10 is the latest Apple's mobile operating system. (Photo : Getty Images/Justin Sullivan)
Apple will soon provide U.S. iPhone users a way to sign up for organ donation. The new feature will be deployed through an upcoming iOS 10 update that will add the said functionality to the smartphone's Health app.
The new feature is part of Apple's program to increase organ donation awareness and invite more people to become donors. The Cupertino-based company is hoping that the said feature will help to address the shortage of donors in the U.S., CNBC reported. Tim Cook, the company's CEO, has shared that he experienced the said issue while watching the late Steve Jobs wait for news of a liver donor several years ago.
The tech giant has also partnered with the non-profit organization Donate Life America that runs a national registry of potential donors. Donate Life's David Fleming commented that they have seen a fewer number of young Americans who have decided to sign up as organ donors, as indicated in the same report. The waiting list for life-saving organ transplants in the U.S. has already reached more than 120,000, according to Fleming. He added that around 22 persons on the said list die every day without having the chance to receive an organ.
Apple iPhone users will find the organ donation registration button within the smartphone's Health app. The new button will be introduced to all iPhone devices in the U.S this fall through the upcoming iOS 10 software update. When the new feature is deployed, Apple iPhone users will be provided a link to where they can sign up to become organ donors.
Jeff Williams, chief operation officer for Apple, has also shared his excitement with the upcoming new feature in a statement posted on the company's website. He mentioned that the updated Health app will soon make it easier for U.S. based iPhone users to register as an organ donor.
Williams also commented that introducing products that can impact other people's lives has always been a part of Apple's mission. The Apple executive even shared the upcoming new feature to the iPhone will help raise the awareness of the issue. "It's a simple process that takes just a few seconds and could help save up to eight lives," Williams added.
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