Instant Blood app: An initiative to bring plasma donors and seekers together

Bangladesh is considering plasma therapy as a ray of hope to save the lives of Covid-19 patients. In Convalescent Plasma Therapy (CPT), doctors need plasma collected from recovered patients to infuse that into those who are currently suffering from Covid-19. But it is difficult to find out the plasma donors when it is needed or to keep a track of the necessary information about them. Instant Blood app, an initiative of Turtle Venture and Xen Tech is trying to help mass people in this regard.

Seeing the emergency posts on social media and observing the overall situation all around to find plasma donors, Saraban Tahura Turin, the founder of Turtle Venture and Xen Tech, thought of contributing something for people within her capability. She has a versatile team of engineers, designers, and innovators coming from different backgrounds who have been working in the startup industry for the last 5-6 years. It took them almost 2 weeks to develop this Instant Blood app and the necessary changes are being updated on the app from time to time.

Instant Blood app can help to search for plasma donors by filtering for the required blood group which you are looking for. It also enables to find the donors in a specific area range. It has an option to register as a plasma donor by providing their personal, contact information and location in its setting. In this way, people who are looking for plasma donors can find them on the map and by clicking on any name they can directly call the donor from this app. The app is all set to connect plasma donors and seekers and it has been started working since mid-June. However, they are facing trouble reaching out to people because of a lack of promotion and financial support. Turin said, "We are planning to get partnered with the government and other organizations to reach more people and let them know about this initiative as everyone's participation is much needed." But as a new app, it has got a great response till now and they are working on the users' feedback.

This app has other features to find out blood donors in your locality and nearby hospitals too. You can also register on their app as a blood donor. To urge people to donate blood and plasma, Turin said, "A mother's tears cannot save a life, but your donation of blood or plasma can save that."