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Comment by waon | Hacker News Reader

It's already bad enough that the surveillance economy is threatening our civil liberties in more ways than one. It's outright dystopian when you need to organize a social media campaign to get medical treatment. Considering the sheer number of people who desperately need medical help, the chances of succeeding is very very low.

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>It's outright dystopian when you need to organize a social media campaign to get medical treatment.

The above comment wasn't an example of that, though. His friend was getting medical treatment, the issue is that you can't just buy a kidney (at least not in the US), you need to find a donor.

> The above comment wasn't an example of that

That isn't just an outright baseless claim, it's wrong by definition. The said person had to go to social media to find a donor, which 100% matches what I descibed, and the fact that some felt this was necessary points to a broken system. It's also terrible to imagine what shady companies can do with targeted ads aimed at vulnerable people who can't find any donors.

You want government enforced kidney donations?

No we want a system in which pleading to a faceless mob of people on social media is not the solution to needing a kidney transplant.

I mean, we can't make kidneys in a lab, so you probably have to ask someone for theirs if you need one. FB is useful for connecting with people, so naturally people would ask there.

What solutions did you have in mind?

Perhaps better government assistance in finding donors would be nice? It shouldn't have to involve people going directly to social media so they can tell the whole world about their medical condition.

Of course not, and that's not my point. The point is that social media is the last place you'd want to go looking for donors, given a choice.

If I needed a kidney and couldn't find a donor through personal connections, I would hope a company with something to offer would ad-target me.

I'm sure your doctor would've told you if there really were other options on the table.

exactly, even in a situation where medical is all paid for you still have to find a donor yourself. There are countries where you can get a donor via "alternative" means but when going by the book, finding a donor is on you.

I cant think of any other way he could have gotten exposure without having to go on tv, radio, public areas and making his case. That power of facebook ( and other social media is undeniable )

Even Wajahat Ali on CNN, who has such a big audience, found a donor off Twitter. Not everyone has the ability to reach out to Anderson Cooper and ask for help.

For every evil thing Facebook has done, there are stories like this. Having my friend alive, his family seeing him everyday is well worth it.

The fact that you need public exposure to find a donor is the problem, not the solution. Going to social media doesn't guarantee that you'll be able to find a donor. Worse, you could be targeted by online scammers and trolls, which is the last thing you want in a difficult situation.

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