Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Facebook saving a life!

 Over 80,000 people are on a waiting list for a kidney transplant.

 Facebook is a strong tool not to just used for advertising or promoting an event. In this case Mike Skinner used facebook to promote a good cause and amazing feat of finding a kidney donor through this social media network. This story is a feel good one, Skinner used the incredible example that involved a New Kids On The Block fan who found a kidney after Donnie Wahlberg (NKOTB) heard about her case via Twitter.

The story starts out it is a hard find to go through the long process of finding a suitable kidney then go dialysis. The dialysis is an artificial kidney that is surgically implanted into the patient. Dialysis which is long and painful procedure where there are treatments 3 to 4 times every couple of hours and lasting for a duration of 3-4days. Mike Skinner did not want his wife Anne Skinner to experience the pain of dialysis. The husband was a frequent user of Facebook and networked with a lot of people but the cause for a kidney did not pick up momentum.

“It was frustrating for me. I would put something funny up and get 35,000 comments, but when I put that my wife was sick, I  heard crickets. Nobody knew what to say,” Mike Skinner said.

“I even threatened my Facebook friends that I wasn’t going to be funny anymore until I got a kidney for my wife; I’m just at the point where I can tell people what I want — I want people to share...the story,” he said.

He developed a page called "Kidney, Kidney, Kidney...we're not kidding you"  devoted to sharing his wife's story. Mike is a big Boston Red Soxs fan and decided to post on a couple of the players pages cause they have celebrity pull.  And this could help a lot, to save his wife's life.  

http://danvers.patch.com/articles/calling-all-kidneys

No comments:

Post a Comment