New Apple OS will feature organ donor registration

The next edition of Apple’s operating system for iPhones will include the ability to register as an organ, tissue, and eye donor through the company’s Health app.

Promising a “simple sign up process,” Apple announced the partnership with Donate Life America to have all the smartphone registrations sent directly to the National Donate Life Registry.

“On average, one person dies every hour in the United States waiting for an organ transplant because the demand for lifesaving transplants far exceeds the available supply of organs—and one donor can save as many as eight lives,” David Fleming, President and CEO of Donate Life America, said in a statement. “By working with Apple to bring the National Donate Life Registry to the Health app on iPhone, we’re making it easier for people to find out about organ, eye and tissue donation and quickly register. This is a huge step forward that will ultimately help save lives.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company hopes making registration easier will help ease the shortage of donors. For him, there’s a personal aspect to this cause because his former boss, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, waited for a liver transplant in 2009.

"Watching and seeing him every day, waiting and not knowing—it stuck with me and left an impression that I'll never forget," Cook said to the Associated Press. Jobs received a transplant by enrolling in Tennessee’s donor registry after he was told he may not survive the wait on California’s list. Jobs later died from pancreatic cancer complications in 2011.

The new feature will be available under the Health app in Apple’s iOS10, set to be released this fall.