Facebook is making it easier to find blood donors in India

Social networking giant, Facebook is making it easier to find blood donors on its platform. Starting October 1 — National Blood Donor Day — Indian Facebook users will be able to sign up to be blood donors. 

To help encourage participation, Facebook will show a message in News Feed and people can edit their Profiles to sign up. All information will remain private and set to “only me” by default, but people can choose to share their donor status on their timelines.

Facebook says it has worked with nonprofit organizations, health industry experts, potential donors and people who have used Facebook to find blood donor to design the program. The initiative will help people and organizations such as hospital and blood banks to connect with blood donors on Facebook.

In-case an individual or organization are need of blood, they will be able to create a special type of post with information donors need to offer help, like blood group, phone number and hospital name. When a special post or request is created Facebook will automatically notify nearby blood donor as well as spread the word. Donors can then review request and contact the organization or people directly through WhatsApp, Messenger or phone call. The person who needs blood won't be able to see the donor's information, unless the donor provides it.

The feature will be first available on Android and mobile web, as these are most widely-used platforms in India. To learn more about the initiative you can visit facebook.com/donateblood