Now it’s more appropriate for blood donors to connect

At a blood donation camp in Sector 37, Chandigarh, on Thursday.

There is a new app in town and it literally serves as a life-saver. Developed by the brains at city-based GrayCell Technologies Exports along with Chandigarh hub of Global Shapers Community, BloodDonor.Me is the latest Android application to hit smart phones and connect blood donors not only across the Tricity, but the country and soon the world. Up and running with 500-plus downloads in the last couple of weeks, BloodDonor.Me will act as a virtual connecting place for donors, givers and receivers. A virtual blood bank, especially for emergency cases, this app is free of cost and can be downloaded from the Google play store.

“As an active member of the community and a blood donor, this is something we wanted to do for a long time. In fact, we had registered the domain name too, and are finally out with it. Our application BloodDonor.Me is a database of blood donors in the city created to help others in need, to give and receive precious blood,” says Munish Jauhar of GrayCell Technologies Exports, adding that how people carry smart phones all the time, and an app cuts all physical boundaries and helps in expediting things, especially in case of emergency.

According to various studies researched by Global Shapers Community, as many as four crore units of blood are needed in this country every year. “Unfortunately, we are able to meet a mere 10 per cent of this enormous demand. Also, only eight per thousand people donate blood… this app’s aim is to encourage people to donate, to come on board and help and save lives,” says Jaideep Bansal of Global Shapers Community.

In the coming weeks, the team is working towards scaling up the reach and impact of the app by tying up with hospitals, various institutions and Rotaract. “Once downloaded, the app instantly searches and displays active donors within a particular radius. We’ve launched it on Android phones first because of the mass market and number of downloads one achieves through it,” adds Jauhar.
On a no-profit-no-loss basis, this app, say Jauhar and Bansal, has been developed for community service. “Our aim is to take it pan-India and global,” they add.