Facebook is set to give its Indian users the option to become blood donors through its platform from the 1st of October, which is also National Blood Donor Day. Android and web users will be the first to be notified about donating blood via their timeline, any information you decide to hand over to Facebook will be set to ‘only me’ by default but you can choose to make it public on your timeline.
Describing the process involved when an organisation or individual needs blood, Facebook says:
“In the next few weeks, we’ll also make it easier for people and organisations, such as blood banks and hospitals, to connect with blood donors on Facebook. When individuals or organisations are in need of blood, they’ll be able to create a special type of post with all the information donors need to easily offer help. When a request is created, Facebook will automatically notify blood donors who may be nearby to help spread the word. 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.”
Earlier in the year, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, said that he wanted to bring users closer together. After making this announcement, Facebook announced a new way to let people spread birthday messages, and with this development it looks like the next step in his scheme to bring people closer in ways not possible before.
Like many other countries, India has a shortage of blood donors so it will be interesting to find out how successful Facebook’s attempts to change the situation will end up being.
Source: Facebook Newsroom | Image via BGR
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