We often think of social media as a way to connect with family, friends and colleagues, but fresh investigations show that social media can also facilitate us in helping others.

Bexley, Kent -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/10/2013 -- When Facebook created a way for users to share their organ donor status and added links to make it easy to sign up as an organ donor, the social media site saw a 21.2-fold increase in new online donor registrations in one day. Equally, When VideoDonor the YouTube alternative to Organ Donation Videos launched in July 2013 it received a warm welcome from people actively supporting organ donation both on Twitter and Facebook with an impression 3k following.

Johns Hopkins University researchers posted results in the American Journal of Transplantation that show the huge potential for social media as a public health tool.

"It's the power of social networking as a source for public good," said study leader Dr. Andrew Cameron, a transplant surgeon and Johns Hopkins University associate professor of surgery.

There definitely is a need for organ donors. According to statistics from the United Network for Organ Sharing, there are about 100,000 people on organ waiting lists, and 90,000 or more are waiting for kidneys alone. The Johns Hopkins University researchers said average daily organ donor registrations total 616 nationwide.

It is a great gift to sign up as an organ donor in the event of death, no doubt. But now the power of social network like VideoDonor and Facebook, can help increase the number of live organ donations, like giving a kidney to a friend or relative.

"In that area, both VideoDonor and Facebook will be a game changers," said Dean Jones, founder of the VideoDonor Organ Donation Video Initiative.

Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network data from January to March of 2013 show there were 5,436 deceased-donor transplants, compared with 1,435 live-donor transplants.

Dean, said that VideoDonor is eager to work with the NHS to help streamline organ donation processes to make it easier to sign up, and that means creating ways to register on mobile devices. "

"We really just have to take advantage of this incredible tool (social media)," he said.

Cameron recently agreed there is a lot more to do to promote donations from both live donors and those at death, including the standardization of organ donation processes. He added that half of kidney transplants now are from live donors.

Cameron also recently said there should be mobile applications that make it easier for patients who need a transplant to reach out to people on social media and ask them to consider being live donors, and to search for other potential donors.

"The soon to be launched iPhone and iPad iOS Organ Donation Video App by VideoDonor will do just that" said Dean Jones in a recent interview.

About VideoDonor
The VideoDonor organ donation project began in June 2013 when Dean, began talking about organ shortages at a seminar that featured an appeal from a donor in need of a kidney transplant.

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Despite countless media campaigns, organ donation rates in the United States and the UK have remained static while need has risen dramatically. Families Find Hope On Social Media Platforms For Relatives Needing Organ Transplants.

Bexley, Kent -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/09/2013 -- New efforts to increase organ donation through public education are necessary to address the waiting list of over 100,000 patients. Families are finding hope on social media for relatives needing organ transplants but turning to social media has opened up a new set of ethical questions for a sensitive topic.

The Facebook Effect:

On May 1, 2012, the online social network, Facebook, altered its platform to allow members to specify "Organ Donor" as part of their profile. Upon such choice, members were offered a link to their state registry to complete an official designation, and their "friends" in the network were made aware of the new status as a donor. Educational links regarding donation were offered to those considering the new organ donor status. On the first day of the Facebook organ donor initiative, there were 13?054 new online registrations, representing a 21.1-fold increase over the baseline average of 616 registrations.

With live donors, social media opens the playing field, but it also has its pitfalls, said Michael Volk, a transplant physician and bioethicist from the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine at the University of Michigan.
"If you do it through social media, people with the most compelling story are likely to find someone, celebrities are more likely to find someone, people with more money to pay for the advertising. That certainly does raise some ethical concerns about fairness," he said. "Most of these concerns would be overcome by effective regulation."

'Power of social media':

Dr. Andrew Cameron, an associate professor of surgery and head of the liver transplant program at Johns Hopkins Hospital believes social media will be the solution to the regulation problem. He was one of the people who organized the roll-out of an organ donation initiative that started May 1, 2012, on Facebook allowing users to display their organ donation status on their pages and register to be a donor through the site.

Within a few days, the number of people registering on a state-by-state basis for donation increased 21-fold, he said. "It was an interesting success in that it spoke to the power of social media. This is a public health problem, and it's one that depends on communication of a difficult topic," Cameron said. Now, Johns Hopkins is working with Facebook again to develop an app that can be downloaded by people in need of a kidney transplant. The app will guide them on how to tell their story through social media and how to inform potential donors of what it's going to take.

VideoDonor 'YouTube Alternative for Organ Donation Videos':

In the meantime, Dean Jones a designer from the UK has lunched a organ donation video sharing website and app called VideoDonor which allows users tell to share there stories with potential donors around the world. On YouTube, the wildly popular video-sharing site, the most-watched video clips include David Letterman's public evisceration of Paris Hilton, music videos by Rihanna and Soulja Boy, and, of course, a young man's heartfelt plea to "leave Britney alone." Organ Donor have widely used this platform to reach out but one of the dangers of reaching out on the Internet is that you never know what you might find — including porn, predators and hate speech. In contrast VideoDonor's founder states that the site is "family friendly and kid safe." To live up to that slogan, VideoDonor has now set up an elaborate security system: Absolutely everything is monitored, 24 hours a day, seven days a week by the "video police."

How to help
There is no age limit or health history restrictions to join the organ donor registry.
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Bexley, Kent -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/03/2013 -- According to a report in Silicon Republic the Facebook Timeline tool for organ donation a 'life saving' system where Facebook users can sign up to donate and save lives is already working wonders in the US, UK and Australia and now Ireland.

California has seen a 800% rise in registration and the NHS more than tripled its registration rates. It looks as though social organ sharing is an excellent way to up the percentage of possible lives saved.

The success of leveraging social networks to increase awareness for organ donation appears to be catching on in the UK with the launch of a organ donation video sharing site VideoDonor. People have referred to the site as the YouTube Alternative for Organ Donation. The site enables users to share their Organ Donation Stories online. Its owner hopes that this will help up the percentage of possible lives saved. The site the incorporates popular Facebook Comments plugin that allows users who have signed up to a organ donation register to auto login to the site and upload or comment on 1000s of uploaded videos.

Organ and blood donation are options that many people think about but few seem to act upon. The benefits are undeniable but still the problem rarely seems to be acknowledged until we need it ourselves or for the sake of someone close to us.

It is also important to let friends and relatives know and naturally a social video sharing network like VideoDonor or Facebook are naturally good platforms for this.

In all cases consent needs to be confirmed, Silicon Republic says that for each time someone commits, up to nine lives can be saved.

Let's hope that VideoDonor sees similar successes as Facebook as it spreads globally.

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Social media initiatives are helping to boost organ donor registration rates, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation. The findings suggest that social media could be an effective tool for tackling a variety of problems related to public health in which communication and education are essential.

Bexley, Kent -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/26/2013 -- VideoDonor.com is on the verge of launching a new iOS app to use full features of of the website.

VideoDonor.com was launched on Tuesday, July 16, 2013 by Dean Jones a former student of St Martins College of Art and Design, London. The site enables users to share their stories and upload their videos behind their decision to become organ donors. This site also gives the users a chance to share the stories of those living organ recipients who have received a gift of life. Dean Jones put in €4,000 (£3495.30) to start the website which was founded from his study room in Kent, England.

The Apple iPhone iOS and Android Apps have created a revolution with its huge user base and social interaction via mobile devices. This massive popularity made the iphone and ipad mobile application development for VideoDonor.com ineluctable.

As of 21 June 2013 according to Wikipedia there are over 10,000 people in the UK and 115, 000 people in the United States, and millions of people throughout the world who are waiting for kidney, liver and heart transplant that will save and prolong their lives. Many of those people – even an average of eighteen lives every day – will die waiting due to the fact that there are not enough organ donors who are willing to donate organs in order to meet their needs. VideoDonor.com believes that by telling people the stories behind those organ donor today will create a significant role to help those people who need an organ transplant.

The VideoDonor press release reads "Users will be able to watch thousands of remarkable, motivational, cute, comedy skits and inspirational clips and music videos uploaded by users around the world. This includes recent uploaded and embedded films by Homeland's David Harewood, Richard Branson, Sky News presenter Kay Burley and Emmerdale's Wil Johnson and be inspired by their intimate and relaxed approach to having that all-important organ donation conversation. Users will be able to upload video clips, create playlists, subscribe to users, create a custom channel and search for others. Comment on videos, rate videos, share videos with your friends via facebook, twitter or email."

Dean the founder of VideoDonor.com states "The VideoDonor iOS app is being created with utmost professionalism, ensuring user-friendly navigation and interface giving the user a delightful experience when browsing through the categories of video via their iPhones, we want organ donors and recipients to be able to easily share their stories through short videos clips with the world and what better way to achieve this goal then through an app."

VideoDonor.com wants to encourage more people than ever before to join the Organ Donation Registers and to talk to their close family and friends about their donation wishes.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm