Jolyn Sher, 16

School: Beatty Secondary School

Topic: Can social media make a positive impact on organ donation?

Award: Distinction, Senior Category, 2023

Social Media and Its Impacts on Organ Donation

If one were to name the most vital part of the human body, an organ would naturally come to mind. So, what happens if ‘the most vital part of the human body’ gives up on an individual? A fight-or-flight situation comes into play. Be it the individual themselves, or a loved one joining the individual in the fight to survive, time is ticking, and the need for an organ becomes critical. However, the individual has now been drawn into the queue for an organ, a queue with over 106,000 other desperate individuals ahead, wearing the same shoes as each other, waiting, waiting, and waiting for the opportunity to live – what is worse, the queue is barely moving. What would it take for the anguished pleas of an individual and their loved ones to reach the front of the queue, and possibly, touch the heart of a potential organ donor, who is willing to give up their own for another? Realistically, the calls for help in the theoretical queue would not aid one, but the calls for help with a ‘physical’ audience would. Of course, a show or a speech may not be feasible, but with the support of social media, where a single post could gain millions and millions of traction from those all around the world, the search for an organ donor becomes less daunting than it was before. Needless to say, social media has definitely made and will continue to make, a positive impact on organ donation, saving countless in the process. Even though there are undeniably still some shortcomings with the use of social platforms in respect of organ donation, our modern-day age has now allowed many patients to employ social media to be the voice, and the key to recovery.

For a start, social media plays a crucial role in the hunt for an organ donor. Social media has allowed many patients around the globe to leverage on its use to find living donors – endeavours the traditional media would not be able to accomplish in the present day. A source published by the National University Hospital (NUH) stated that between June 2014 and December 2019, the Social Media effect resulted in seven liver transplants between living donors and people they did not know. This is a great boost moving forward for organ donations as it has also been revealed that ‘Liver transplants from living donors are becoming more important as donations of the organs from the dead have not kept pace with growing demand’, as stated by Professor Shridhar in the same source. The concept of using live donors rather than those of the deceased has thus proven to be more viable, but reaching the necessary audience has been demanding. Therefore, social media has proven itself to greatly facilitate the medical industry’s and patients’ search for an organ donor – a stepping stone to the enhancements of organ donations.

In addition to the search for an organ, initiatives of social media platforms have encouraged more individuals to come forward and register themselves as an organ donor. An exemplar case is the social media giant Facebook, which designed a way for users to share their organ donor status with friends on their personal page. Just on the first day of the sharing, Johns Hopkins researchers found that there were 13,012 new online donor registrations - twenty-one times more than the daily average registration rate of 616 nationwide in the United States. This was an extraordinary turning point to counter the stubborn organ shortage in the nation, considering that between 5,000 to 10,000 people who died each year were eligible for organ donations, but ended up not donating due to the lack of consent and prior registration.

Next, social media provides a platform to educate and enlighten others on the topic of organ donation. One of the main reasons why one may choose not to donate is because of the lack of awareness, misinformation, and taboos relating to the subject matter. Fortunately, with a platform like social media where 59.4% of the world’s population are all active users of these websites, reaching a broader audience is much simpler. Attempts to educate and teach the general public, as well as bring more engagement and attention to a certain issue or cause becomes much more efficient with these simple-to-use platforms. As such, many campaigns or organisations for organ donations are situated on social media platforms to draw awareness to a certain subject. For example, the account ‘nhsorgandonor’ on instagram which promotes organ donor registration has well over thirty-four thousand followers. The page takes the opportunity to share true stories of patients, organ donors, as well as debunk any misconceptions the public may have on organ donation. When people read these heart-wrenching stories about the sufferings of another, many would feel sympathy, understand the magnitude of how much their contribution of organ donation may mean to someone, and therefore willingly choose to register as one. Moreover, as social media becomes the new norm, and the majority of the younger generations are roped into it, the platform becomes key in achieving a positive change in attitude towards organ donation, for both young and old. It is crucial to educate our youths, to ensure the growth of organ donation, where more people who are eligible in the future will be able to come forward, and donate their organs to a good cause. The future of organ donation is in the hands of our younger generations and we must cultivate them to be as knowledgeable as they can in this field – an operation which social media would best be able to play a role in.

However, despite the countless attributes that have proven social media to be one which can, and has, positively impacted organ donation, one would still have to come to the consensus that social media has caused some damage to organ donation. One instance is that social media has enabled the rise and development of an illegal and unethical ‘Black Market’ where organ trafficking takes place. This is made possible when those in desperate need of an organ transplant resorts to using these “international organised crime” to purchase an illegal organ, where the use of social media becomes the main source of advertisement and transactions for these criminal deals. One example is a 2006 investigation conducted by David Matas and David Kilgour which revealed an “on-demand organ harvesting system” at the Falun Gong prison where Chinese physicians advertised a two-week waiting period for organ transplantation. The shortened wait time, compounded with social media access, has thus made China a frequent destination for transplant tourism. This is extremely destructive as it violates the human rights of the organ donor, who may have been coerced or blackmailed against their will to give up their organ. It would also widen healthcare disparities in the population, where those who participate in these criminal activities are able to gain the resources they need, while those who adhere to the ethical approach would not.

Yet again, the root cause behind this illegal black market is due to the shortage of organ donors, which is, as stated, unable to cope with the demand of those who need it – thus forcing many to resort to these unethical ways for a chance of survival. However, if we continue to use social media as a platform to gather more organ donors, spread awareness on the issue, and educate others, the demand for organs would be met, and those in need would not have to commit these felonious deeds.

In summary, it is clear how much social media brings to the table for organ donation. Our generation thrives on the use of social media, and thus it is important not to underestimate the power and influence of the platform in our twenty-first century, but recognise how we can utilise it to its fullest potential for a good cause and to bring good to society. For once, the stubborn organ shortage which has caused millions of lives to be lost in the past century will finally come to an end. A simple platform originally created to allow its users to connect with each other online, will now be the reason why hundreds and thousands of patients are able to receive the organ transplantations – and the reason why our generations, along with the generations after us, would be able to perceive organ donation in a new light, and come forward as organ donors, saving and contributing to society.

Disclaimer: Please note that the views and opinions expressed in the essays for the Live On Festival 2023 are those of the participants and are not endorsed by the National Organ Transplant Unit (Ministry of Health). To learn more about organ donation and organ transplantation in Singapore, please visit www.liveon.gov.sg