With iOS 10, you'll be able to sign up as an organ donor on your iPhone

Apple's mission to use the power of its mobile devices to ease many common tasks just took an interesting new turn: signing up for organ donation.

On Tuesday, the company announced that, when iOS 10 launches in the fall, iPhone and iPad users will be able to register themselves for organ donation directly through the updated Health app.

Using the Medical ID feature in the updated version of the app, users to can easily add themselves to the National Donate Life Registry, which is managed by Donate Life America.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

"With the updated Health app, we’re providing education and awareness about organ donation and making it easier than ever to register," said Apple's chief operating officer, Jeff Williams, in a statement released by the company. "It's a simple process that takes just a few seconds and could help save up to eight lives."

It's a simple process that takes just a few seconds and could help save up to eight lives.

The iOS 10 public beta will be available this month, but the developer preview is already available. The official release is expected in the fall alongside the new iPhone.

Apple's Medical ID feature in the Health app already serves as a valuable health tool, allowing users to input birth date, height, blood type and important allergy information which is available on the iPhone's lock screen in case of emergencies.

In 2015 alone, roughly 30,000 organ transplants were made available to patients in need. According to U.S. government statistics, organ donation has gradually been on the rise since 1991, with a slight dip in the last few years. Long a staple of state driver's licenses, adding an organ donor registration option to the iPhone app may help increase the number of registered donors (now numbering 130 million).

"By working with Apple to bring the National Donate Life Registry to the Health app on iPhone, we're making it easier for people to find out about organ, eye and tissue donation and quickly register," Donate Life America CEO David Fleming said in a statement on the organization's website. "This is a huge step forward that will ultimately help save lives."

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