When I first heard that Facebook was implementing a feature that would allow users to display their organ donor status in their profiles, I thought it was more than a little silly. How is that relevant to social networking? However, after learning more about it, including the fact that Facebook allows non-donors to sign up through the site, I started to see the benefit. Now, after Facebook’s new feature has encouraged ten thousand new donors in the span of a day, I’m sold.

It’s pretty brilliant on Facebook’s part. It’s almost as if they’re manipulating everyone’s hubris. People see their friends listed as donors and, not wanting to be outdone, feel compelled to register themselves. Pride is a nasty quality, but if it leads to a bunch of lives getting saved, I’ll gladly tolerate it. A transplant surgeon at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who helped bring the idea to Facebook even floated the possibility of eliminating the transplant waiting list in the next few years due to an abundance of organ donation. One can only hope!

via Slash Gear