What we do when someone close to us is in dire need of blood that can ultimately save his/her life?
We approach our close ones, ask for help on WhatsApp or follow any conventional method to fulfil the need. But are these methods really helping us out?
Being a social media giant, Facebook has taken many great steps to get the social issues sorted. Whether if we talk about revenge porn or Free Basics, Mark Zuckerberg in a Facebook post announced a new feature to increase the Blood Donation here in India. The feature which will be connecting the donors with the ones in need will help and will definitely make new blood relations.
According to a report by TOI, India has an annual need of 12 million units of blood which is backed up by 10 million units of annual collected blood. Though the figure of 2-3 million might not look like an issue, when we see it saving the lives of thousands of people, it is indeed a big deal.
It is just not India but many other nations of the world that are facing the blood storage affecting millions of lives.
Stepping forward, Facebook has integrated a new feature to connect the potential donors with the people in need of blood.
Starting from October 1, National Blood Donor Day, people of India will be able to register themselves as donors on Facebook. The sign-up process will be very easy just involving a few questions like- blood group, have they ever donated blood before?
As promised by Facebook all the information will be kept private.
Facebook has worked with many NGOs, experts and organizations with information and tools to find blood donors when needed. The eligible organisations like blood banks and hospitals will be able to create a special post with the information of blood group and other information that can help the donors to decide if they want to donate the blood or not.
Once the post is done, Facebook will notify the near-by registered donors about the need.
Interested donors can then connect with the hospital or blood bank via WhatsApp or call.
Taking care of the privacy, the individual or hospital in need will not be able to see the contacts and personal information of the donor unless the donor personally contacts them.
This feature will get live in India for the initial stage, but as blood donation has always been a global issue, Facebook may implement it for other regions of the world.
