Proving that the Internet can reach a wider audience than any other form of advertising, an Iowa man found a kidney donor on Facebook after his son posted an appeal in his Facebook status.
Matthew Burge, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, asked for a kidney donor from his family and friends by using Facebook, the fastest way to reach everyone at once. Matthew posted the messaged on September 18th at 5:39pm, and less than 30 minutes later he had received an offer of a kidney from Nick Etten.
Nick declared that if they were a match, he would donate his kidney. They were a match, and Mathew had found someone who could save his father’s life.
Nick and Matthew both attended college together and had stayed in touch via Facebook. It wasn’t until Mathew asked for help on Facebook that Nick knew his father needed a kidney donor.
Nick Etten explained:
I read it and instantly knew if I was a match, I’d do it. I knew it was the right thing to do.
Nick had never met Matthew’s father John, and John was both surprised and relieved to find that they were a match:
It’s just incredible that he stepped forward.
Nick Etten’s mother expressed her immense pride in her son:
It’s pretty scary but I’m pretty proud of him.
But what he did doesn’t surprise me a bit. We jokingly say if someone else needed a kidney, he’d donate the other one. That’s just the kind of person he is.
This shows just how powerful social networking websites are for reaching people and that if used correctly they can form the backbone of any Internet marketing campaign.
