Through an alliance between Facebook and the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS), people who voluntarily register as blood donors on the “Blood Donations” page, will receive a notification on that social network when donations of the vital liquid are urgently needed.
According to Dr. Carlos Villegas, director of the National Blood Bank of the CCSS, blood is always needed and the implementation of this alert will help them reach out to citizens who are willing to donate through technology.
“Blood is always required for patient care and is only used for one condition: the risk of life or death of a person. Having the necessary amount implies giving the country the assurance that we can attend to people who require it for surgery, a traffic accident, or pregnant women who require a blood component”, explained Dr. Villegas.
The functioning of the option in the social network
According to the CCSS, when their hospitals require donors, they will be able to make special publications on their pages that will allow them to have contact with potential donors. For people between the ages of 18 and 65 who sign up voluntarily, their donor status will be private by default. Likewise, they will be able to consult in the Facebook option the opportunities to donate.
As of today, this option to register as a donor is available in 25 countries. In India and Brazil, 20% of the people who are part of the initiative assured that this social network influenced their decision to be blood donors.
