Apple encourages users to register as organ donors via new software

PanARMENIAN.Net - Apple wants to encourage millions of iPhone owners to register as organ donors through a software update that will add an easy sign-up button to the health information app that comes installed on every smartphone the company makes, the Associated Press reports.

CEO Tim Cook says he hopes the new software will help ease a longstanding donor shortage. He told The Associated Press that the problem hit home when Apple co-founder Steve Jobs endured an "excruciating" wait for a liver transplant in 2009.

Apple is adding the option to enroll in a national donor registry by clicking a button within the iPhone's Health app, which can be used to manage a variety of health and fitness data. The software will come to all U.S.-based iPhones when the company updates its mobile operating system this fall.