A standard Blood bank is by far, one of the most important indicators of a functional and working health system. The importance of even a pint of blood cannot be overemphasized as no major medical procedure can efficiently take place without a blood bank ready to feel need for blood.
I still recall the seriousness attached to blood banking services at Jos University Teaching Hospital where I had the opportunity of interning for a year. The Chief Scientist in charge of blood bank at the hospital painstakingly ensures that every new intern on the bench understands every bit of crosshatching before taking they can be allowed to take calls. It was so much that some of us had to sacrifice our very precious Saturdays and come back to the laboratory to learn from the senior colleagues on call. That was the level of importance attached to it.
It is therefore very heartwarming to see people who are passionate about ensuring that this important tissue gets to people who need it when it matters most to them.
The LifeBank app is an initiative of the For One Percent project and they are leveraging on technology to ensure that donors have access to safe blood thereby helping to save thousands of lives.
Describing the initiative on a blog post published on the Nigerian Health Watch website, the director of the project, Temie Giwa-Tubosun said he was driven to start the project following the bomb blast in Abuja which revealed that much is yet to be desired in the nation’s blood transfusion service…
About four years ago, a bomb blast tore through the United Nations Building in Abuja, Nigeria, which left 21 dead and 73 wounded. At the time, there was a major shortage of blood, and many of the survivors barely made it due to lack of blood. I had always felt there was a need to tackle the blood shortage situation in Nigeria. The bomb blast was the final push that I needed to do something about this problem. I launched the One Percent Project with the help of my closest friends. At One Percent, we believe that technology can serve as an enabler to ensure fast innovation to help save lives.
So far, they have been able to collect about 1700 pints of blood and this can save about 5000 lives. They are therefore calling on potential donors and doctors (who can act as admins on the app) to join them by registering on the app.