107-Year-Old Donor of Corneas is Possibly World's Oldest Organ Giver

A 107-year-old woman donated her corneas upon her death, making her Scotland's oldest organ donor, and possibly the world's oldest organ donor.

Lesley Hogan of National Health Service Blood and Transplant disclosed the donation as part of the "We Need Everybody" campaign, aimed at increasing donor awareness and dispelling myths about transplantation, the Evening Times of Glasgow reported.

"It's the first time we have had a campaign which I think really will appeal to everyone. We are looking at different sectors of society, to represent everyone," Hogan said. "The message is, 'Don't rule yourself out.'"

Cornea transplants have occurred successfully since 1905. The success rate is high for this type of transplant with about 93 percent of corneal transplants still functioning after one year.

"It's a marvelous legacy to save someone's life, and you can do that well into old age," Hogan told the Evening Times. "Older kidneys can work just as well as those from a 20 year old."

Last month, an 82-year-old man who died in a road accident in India became the oldest organ donor there, The Times of India reported. His liver was transplanted into a 44-year-old man, who has been discharged from the hospital and is recovering well.

On Tuesday, Apple announced that the next update to its iOS operating system will allow iPhone users to sign up to become organ donors using their smartphones, USA Today reported.

The partnership with Donate Life America allows users to enroll in the National Donate Life Registry with the press of a button on the company's Health app.

Late CEO Steve Jobs' "excruciating" wait for a liver transplant in 2009 sparked the decision, The Associated Press reported.

"Watching and seeing him every day, waiting and not knowing - it stuck with me and left an impression that I'll never forget," CEO Tim Cook told the AP.

More than 120,000 people in the United States are waiting for an organ transplant, and 22 die each day while waiting, according to Donate Life America.

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