Social media is doing more than just connecting old friends and family. It’s also doing more than just letting us voice out our opinions, our personal outrage, and even the trivialities of everyday living. Now, social media has become an effective means to save lives, whether it be a means to communicate during disaster (such as what happened during several of our typhoons) or to perhaps find another chance at life.
Amit Gupta, an online entrepreneur suffering from acute leukemia, decided that he would not only use Twitter and Tumblr to keep his family and friends updated on his condition. Rather, he would use it to reach out to find a matching bone marrow donor, something we often see as a difficult task when portrayed in movies, where chances are slim and matching donors are far and few. Though no match has been found yet, he remains hopeful and grateful.
One success story is that of Roxy Kurze who aired her pleas via a Facebook status which read: “Wishing a kidney would fall out of the sky so my husband can stop suffering… If anyone knows of a live donor with type O blood, PLEASE let me know.” She found a willing donor through a Facebook friend she’d met only once. Ricky Cisco willingly donated his kidney to Kurze’s husband.
“I always wanted to be a hero, but I’m not very strong. I can’t lift anything, I can’t save people in traditional ways. I do have an extra kidney,” Cisco told The Daily Mail.
While this method of finding a donor remains controversial as some people still feel that personal health and condition remain private, sometimes, when you or your loved one’s life is on the line, an invasion of privacy is a small price to pay for that second chance.
Source: Huffington Post