Facebook Starting Organ Donation Dialogue Among Gen Y

May 30, 2012 by Tamara Bell

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Dr. Andrew Cameron, Surgical Director of Liver Transplantation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Dr. Andrew Cameron, Surgical Director of Liver Transplantation at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, is currently researching drug free transplantation “tolerance” via mobilization of stem cells. Last year, he received the Johns Hopkins Medical Student Teaching Award in Surgery as well as was named to Baltimore’s Best Doctors List by Baltimore Magazine. A graduate of Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in Science and History, Dr. Cameron received his medical degree and Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

There are more than 114,000 people on the national transplant waiting list, and, on average, 18 of them will die every day waiting for an organ. The cause got a boost, however, in early May when Facebook announced that the site would now include donor designations in its biographical information. How did this come about and what are the implications for organ donation down the line?

Dr. Cameron joins Keeping Up with Gen Y to talk about how the Facebook initiative hopes to create awareness and communication about organ donation among Gen Y. He also points out that, even though Gen Y have long lives to live, proactively declaring at a young age your intent to be an organ donor tells family and friends how you want to help others when your time comes.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Dr. Andrew Cameron, Facebook, Generation Y, Harvard, Johns Hopkins University of School of Medicine, Keeping Up with Gen Y, organ donation, public health, tamara bell, transplantation

About Tamara Bell

Tamara Bell is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Y Gen Out Loud, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that provides a platform for Generation Yto discuss national politics and public policy issues.

Tamara began her journalism career as a staff reporter for the Dallas Times Herald. A few years later, she moved to York, Pa., as a political reporter for the York Dispatch, covering local, state, and national government as well as writing investigative stories for the mid-sized daily newspaper.

A Texas girl at heart, Tamara returned to Dallas a year later to work as press relations director for the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. John Bryant. The next year, she moved to Austin and the Texas Legislature, where she stayed for 15 years. While at the Legislature, Tamara worked for Democratic House members as Chief-of-Staff and Press Secretary, and as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Senate State Affairs Committee chaired by a Republicansenator.

In 1996, Tamara became co-owner of a political newsletter covering state issues and elections. As Editor-in-Chief, Tamara helped shape the weekly publication into a must-read for state officials, legislative aides, and lobbyists. More recently, Tamara wrote a regular column analyzing coverage by the Texas Capitol Press Corps for an online political publication. She also works as a lecturer in the Advertising Department at The University of Texasat Austin.

Tamara has also been a judge for the 2010 Bright Ideas Award given by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, served as a panelist at the Society of Professional Journalists 2010 Region 8 Conference where the theme was How to Save Journalism, and has been a guest lecture for the Advertising Department’s Internship course, speaking about the jobs outlook for graduating seniors.

Tamara earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin, and her B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M University. She resides in Austin with her son, Jackson.

Tamara Bell is also the Host of Keeping Up with Gen Y on WomensRadio. Keeping Up with Gen Y offers discussions, interviews, and commentary about important issues of the day from the perspective of Generation Y (18-to 30-years-old). Aimed at all generations interested in learning about and inspiring young people, this show features professionals, experts, researchers, and members of Gen Y who share insights and experiences about the topics on the minds of today’s young adults.