Facebook says its blood donation feature in India, Bangladesh, Brazil and Pakistan has been doing so well, over 35 million users have signed up to be donors. In India and Brazil, over 20 percent of the people who go to blood banks say their decision was influenced by the social network. Now, the company has finally launched the feature in the US in an effort to raise awareness about the decline in blood donations, as well as to connect willing donors with the blood banks that desperately need them.
The feature is only available in Chicago, New York City, San Francisco Bay Area, Baltimore and Washington DC at the moment, but the company promises to roll it out nationwide over the coming months. Facebook has teamed up with various blood centers and organizations like the American Red Cross their requests for donations will show up on the social network’s app and website, visible to users nearby who signed up to see them.
Those who want to help save lives can sign up by going to the new Blood Donations entry in the About section of their profile. They’ll receive notifications whenever one of the partner organizations in their area publish a call for donations and will be able to view all the requests in the feature’s tab.
