World Blood Donor Day 2019: Facebook will now notify users if nearby blood banks need blood donation

Social networking giant Facebook is expanding its blood donation notification tool to several US cities. This new feature allows Facebook users to opt-in to receive notifications directly from blood banks in their area. After Facebook conducted successful tests of this new tool in India, Facebook has decided to roll it out for users in the US. Full details here:

With the new blood donation notification feature on Facebook, the social media giant is clearly making it easier for blood banks to find donors. Facebook recently announced that it plans to blood donation notifications to US users after successful tests in countries such as India and Bangladesh among others where it was launched in 2017.

"Every two seconds, someone in the US needs blood, and one donation can potentially save three lives. However, blood banks in the US are seeing a decline in blood donors," Hema Budaraju, Product Director, Health at Facebook said.

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Going forward, Facebook users in several US cities like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore and Washington DC will receive notifications from blood banks in their area. Facebook's "Become a Blood Donor on Facebook" sign up page lists down the importance and features of this tool, as follows:

1. You can opt-in to receive Facebook notifications from blood banks in their area in case they need your help.

2. The tool also makes it easier for Facebook users to connect with blood banks in their nearby area.

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"Inspire friends to donate blood so they can help save lives too," Facebook's Blood donation sign up page reads.

As part of this initiative, Facebook is partnering with several organisations including America's Blood Centers, the American Red Cross, New York Blood Center, Rock River Valley Blood Center, Stanford Blood Center, Versiti and Vitalant.

How to use Facebook's blood donation tool

All you need to do is navigate to the About section of your Facebook profile. You have to opt-in to receive Facebook alerts and notifications from blood banks in your nearby area. When blood banks need donations, they can send out alerts to people in the area. You will receive a notification saying which organisations need blood donations and of what blood types.