There’s 122,000 people in the United States waiting for an organ. Patients who need organ donations are no longer content to sit on a waiting list, they’re sharing their stories on social media in hopes of finding a match.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg turned to her 1.5 million followers in hopes of finding an organ donor for her former high school teacher and it worked!

Howard Nathan — president and CEO of Gift of Life –hopes this trend will generate more awareness about becoming a donor:

“The concept of having someone seek out a donor we’re sorta lukewarm on. We want people to become donors and if people can generate interest it’s a good thing.”

Twenty-two people die each day without one because the demand far outweighs the supply. It could take years for patients to find a match or receive an organ donation.

“The bottom line is there can’t be anything at all given to that donor for giving an organ, it’s against the law,” Nathan says, “So there’s no financial incentive that can be offered or accepted for donating.”

Facebook allows members to share their organ donor status and helps users register to become an organ donor.

Source: philadelphia.cbslocal.com