There is a new social networking site that is doing more than connecting less-than-lost friends or allowing you to secretly spy on you ex. Augmentation Nation is a forward thinking [tag]social networking[/tag] site with a purpose. They allow members to set up profiles with the intention of raising money for cosmetic surgery. The surgeries range from exercises in narcissism to facial reconstruction and surgeries that would offer substantial life changing results. People profile here I hopes of raising enough money to pay, or help with the costs of surgery, often because health insurance has denied coverage or they simply don’t have health insurance.

Each profile is linked to a Paypal account that accepts donations as small as a dollar. The profiles let you post a pic, explain your desired procedure and tell a little something about yourself. It also gives you a donation goal bar. As people make donation, the bar fills horizontally like a thermometer. It also tells you what percentage of your goal has been met. The site is completely free. Though they cannot guarantee that the people will use the money for their stated purpose, the donator must assume their monies are appropriately used. This would be why knowing the person or knowing about the person before you make your donation might be a good idea. Many of the members have external blogs or profiles on other social networking sites. This is a good resources for supplementing their [tag]Augmentation Nation[/tag] profile.

The site is small with less than 200 members, but seems to be growing at a steady pace. It offers resources such as “Surgeon Search.” Though it does not advocate for any doctor, they do assist you in finding one. They also post articles of recent news from the plastic surgery world, keeping their members abreast of controversy and change in the plastic surgery field. Currently in development is a forums section where, presumably, members will be able to talk to one another and support each other with their fund raising and their surgery.

As many people might suspect, the site has a lot of members with sexy pictures who are trying to sell you, with their bedroom eyes, as to why you need to give them money for their new boobs. I have to say, there are a lot of [tag]breasts[/tag] on the site. The creators must have had foresight to popularity of the [tag]Pam Anderson[/tag] special, because even their dummy image for the profile pic is a busty silhouetted woman. But breasts not withstanding, there are surgeries on the site that offer a reason besides living upto [tag]Playboy Bunny[/tag] standards of beauty. There are profiles that ask for help with nose jobs after being beaten and mugged, vision correction for near blindness, orthodontic surgery to correct severe under bites that interfere with speech and breathing. One blogger, Me and My Lazy I has been writing about the emotional struggles of living with [tag]Stratibismus[/tag], or a lazy eye, and her difficulties with getting the surgery to correct it. She created a profile after realizing she would have to pay for the surgery herself. Despite the intense affect this condition has on a person’s life, and is considered a social [tag]disability[/tag] due to evidence of discrimination, health insurance still considers this a cosmetic procedure. So she has started fundraising for her surgery. In return for the donation, she will continue to blog about her experience and pre and post-op pics. For those of us that like to watch plastic surgery TV for the procedures rather than the makeover, that is an exciting prospect. But beyond that, the blog offers a new dimension to the charity. Instead of giving money and never really seeing the fruit of your donation, with that addition of the blog you get to read how your donation affects her life both emotionally and physically.

So despite the abundance of breasts, Augmentation Nation has the potential to be a life-changing site for many people. Any donation you make is not specifically tax deductible, unless the people have established themselves as a non-profit, which is unlikely. However, if you speak with an accountant they can tell you if you are able to claim the deduction under general charity. To visit the site go to Augmentationnation.com

-Written by Lauren Armstrong