Can blogs help save lives?

Last week, I became aware of a friend of a friend who is waiting for a liver transplant at Duke Medical Center in Durham, NC. Her name is Shauna Saunders, and although I don't know Shauna personally, I feel like I've gotten to know her through postings her family and friends have been making at the CaringBridge website dedicated to updates on her urgent need for a liver transplant to hold onto life itself. Shauna has been dealing with this problem for most of her life, but only recently has the situation become urgent.

Reading through the family's online journal is a difficult but uplifting experience -- the real strength and hope of the human spirit shines through above all else in a tough situation that never seems to overwhelm Shauna's friends and family, who continue to exhaust all means to try to save Shauna's life. The family was able to reach Ruth Sheehan at the News & Observer in Raleigh, NC, and she wrote a story on Saturday that explained the urgent nature of Shauna's need for a liver:

Saunders is currently at the top of the list for a liver donation.

But time is short. The doctors told her family and friends Friday that she has perhaps five days, perhaps a week.

Since that story ran, a donor surfaced but the liver was not satisfactory for transplant, so Shauna's family is waiting for another offer (a fourth). This may seem like a problem that you can't help solve personally, but you can do something now -- take the time to fill out an organ donor card and make sure your family is aware of your decision. All the materials you need are online here and here. Urge your friends and family to do the same in your blogs and in your "real" conversations. This is definitely a situation where the time-criticality of such an urgent need for Shauna and thousands of others could potentially be addressed through the rapid and broad dissemination of actionable information in the blogosphere. If ever blogs could be used for the Greater Good, this is it.

(Incidentally, I was unaware of CaringBridge before now -- it's a non-profit -- but I made a donation to support them today. The whole reason I got involved in technology and the Internet was because I thought it would connect actual people in new and interesting ways, and an organization like CaringBridge is doing this for people who are too busy taking care of friends and family members to jump through all the hoops to set up their own web site or blog.)

Update: Shauna Saunders passed away last Friday evening after attempts to locate a compatible liver were unsuccessful. My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with her family and friends in this difficult time. This tragedy only underscores the need for getting those organ donor cards filled out so fewer families have to go through such a deeply painful experience. Posted by Chad Dickerson at November 30, 2004 10:45 AM