Dubai residents will be able to donate blood at the click of a button with a new app launched by the Dubai Blood Donation Centre (DBDC) which will be made available on android platforms and App Store in Arabic and English languages, for free downloads, by March end this year.
The app integrates a new blood management system using a world leading technology called Hemasoft.
Dr May Raouf, head of DBDC, told Gulf News: “We had launched this app in February 2016 and were in the process of tweaking the systems and training health-care professionals. The app will go live by March end.”
Last year, the centre collected 49,500 blood units which were the highest collection by any centre in the country. Dr Raouf said with this database and ease of donation, the centre would easily be able to improve upon the collection this year.
The app will not only help registered donors locate the nearest blood donation centre and provide the blood donation centre with a wide database of different blood types, but also save important time on both sides by allowing the donors to read the literature on blood donation and answering the mandatory 57 questions on the form beforehand.
“The centre will easily save about 30 minutes and it will cut down processing time for the staff and at the same time make the donation process more efficient for donors. All they have to do is scan their code and their questionnaire will be electronically transferred to our database,” pointed out Dr Rauf.
In addition, the app will have other features such as alerting the donor of an upcoming donation date. Donors will also be able to receive appreciation letters and invitations for activities related to blood donation through their smart device and get notifications for donation campaigns.
Dr Raouf said the app also encourages people who may not be habitual donors to register and be part of the database and donate in times of national disasters.