Apple's New Organ Donation Initiative Was Inspired By Steve Jobs

Apple Inc.AAPL
's latest initiative isn't meant to drive revenue growth or ease concern over its lack of innovation. Apple's new collaboration with Donate Life America, which allows iPhone users to sign up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor, is about saving lives.

Apple's CEO Tim Cook said the company's latest initiative is meant to help ease the longstanding shortage of organ donors. According to the Associated Press, Cook said he hopes to make a difference after watching his friend and former boss, Steve Jobs, endure an "excruciating" wait for a liver transplant in 2009.

Related Link: With Just A Few Taps On Your iPhone, You Can Become An Organ Donor Courtesy Of Apple

Jobs ultimately passed away in 2011 after battling pancreatic cancer. He received a liver transplant in Tennessee, credited with extending his life.

"Watching and seeing him every day, waiting and not knowing — it stuck with me and left an impression that I'll never forget," Cook told the Associated Press.

David Fleming, CEO of Donate Life America, also said younger Americans are not registering "at the same rate as they have in the past." He noted that more than 120,000 people in the United States are waiting for a transplant and 22 people die each day without receiving a potentially life-saving organ.

Posted In: NewsWall Street JournalHealth CareTechMediaTrading IdeasGeneralApple OrganDavid FlemingDonate Life AmericaiPhone HealthSteve JobsSteve Jobs CancerTim Cook
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