In a bid to make it easier to donate blood in India, Facebook has rolled out a new feature. The feature will make it easier for people to sign up to be donors. It will help to connect people and organizations with information and tools to find blood donors when needed.
The social network worked with non-profit organizations, blood banks, and donors to build a tool to make it easier to give blood. Starting October 1 which is National Blood Donor Day, Facebook users in India will be able to start signing up to be blood donors. With an aim to help encourage participation, Facebook will show a message in News Feed or people can edit their Profiles to sign up. All information will remain private and set to “only me” by default, but people can choose to share their donor status on their timelines.
When individuals or organizations are in need of blood, they will be able to create a special type of post with all the information donors need to easily offer help. Facebook will automatically notify blood donors who may be nearby to help spread the word, when a request is created. Donors can then review the request and, if they wish to respond, contact the requestor directly through WhatsApp, Messenger or a phone call. The person who needs blood won’t be able to see any information about the donor, unless the donor explicitly provides it when he/she reaches out to the person in need of blood.
The new feature will be available on Android and mobile web, as these are the most widely-used platforms in India. People in India can go to facebook.com/donateblood to learn more and sign-up to be a blood donor.