SOCIAL APP
HEAD: FOSTERING ‘BLOOD RELATIONS’ THROUGH TECHNOLOGY…
BODY:
India has over 3,000 blood banks but they still do not have enough supply to fulfil the demand. They often run short of up to millions of units and more than a millions units while more than a million units are discarded every year because the collected blood does not meet quality parameters or deteriorates during storage. But thanks to a few good Samaritans who have connected technology with humanity, have proved to be a boon to the society. They have connected the donors to the recipients with blood donation apps which offer a touch of kindness through technology.
Mblood
To bridge the gap between demand and availability of blood units, Sushil Lalwani conceptualized Mblood – a unique start-up. The idea struck to him after he lost a close relative as he was not able to get the required number of blood units in time. He met doctors, approached hospitals and blood banks and connected with volunteers from the local Rotary Club. Using GPS technology, Mblood enables users to connect with registered blood donors in their area for free at just the click of a button. As of now, there are 2100 blood banks listed with Mblood. So, when a requirement is posted, a willing donor is immediately notified. Mblood app went live in January 2018 and within a month over 10,000 users registered with the app. Currently the app has over 27,000 users across India.
Donor2donor
Donor2donor is an initiative by Arthaay Foundation which has come up with its own insight to offer services to the society. Founded by Mr. Dixit Sood, it is a blood donation platform where one can find live donors online, thereby evading the long waiting scenario of blood banks. Donor2donor mobile app allows the user to search blood donor within the range of 50 km. through the app, Donor2donor aims to encourage voluntary blood donation and spread awareness among the people to donate blood. The app serves as a channel between the blood donor and recipient to curb unavailability of blood during emergency or crisis situation. Besides promoting the accessibility of blood to display our commitment to healthcare and betterment of society, the app also aims to spread awareness among the public so as to increase the count of donors.
Friends2Support – Friends by ‘Blood’ Relation
F2S is an organization launched by five friends – Sheikh Shareef, Naveen Reddy, S. Koteshwara Rao, Phani Kethamakka and Murali Krishna in Hyderabad. The founders are all software engineers by profession and were on a mission to fulfil every blood request across India with a web portal connecting people who are willing to donate. With over 1,00,000 donors, F2S is now India’s largest blood donor network with a free SMS facility to blood donors. Using technology, F2S has launched several mobile apps and plans to set up a GPS tracker which will detect the location of the caller and send details of available blood donors through call analysts. Thus F2S connects voluntary blood donors and those in need to a common platform through its website – http://www.friends2support.org .
Indian Blood Donors
Recognising the dearth of access to blood banks, Khushroo Poacha built a small network of volunteers and supporters through technology to connect blood donors and recipients. He registered his company Indian Blood Donors in 1991 with family and friends being the first registered users. Soon, using the paging technology, Poacha sent out a line asking people to page him if anyone needed blood from outside Nagpur. With a positive response, he immediately connected to his registered friends and soon a network of blood donors was formed. With over 50,000 registered donors, www.indianblooddonors.com connects donors and recipients across India building a community that cares.
Technology has thus made a deep impact to foster humanity on a positive and healthy note.
