Impact Of Mobile Applications On Blood Donation Process

Abstract

There is extensive research in the field of blood donation. Blood donation is an honorable and humane act. Technology has been spreading its root everywhere in almost every field around the world. The medical field is also full of the application and implementation of the technology and new advances in the smart innovative fields. The use of technology for the wellbeing of human life is the best possible utilization of the resources.

This review paper encompasses the utilization of mobile application increases the number of those who do blood donations in Saudi Arabia. It generally reviews the research studies conducted by other scholars in regards to the development of mobile applications to search, collect, inform, store and distribute every type of blood in Saudi Arabia. Different organizations such as Saudi Ministry of Health and Saudi Red Crescent Authority are aiding in the process of effective blood donation utilizing the technology. However, there is need of innovative thoughts with development of effective, secure database for achieving better outcomes out of this combination.

Keywords. Blood Donation, Mobile Applications, Technology, Social Media, Saudi Arabia

Introduction

At the turn of the twentieth century, fundamental changes began to occur in human services. Specialists found human blood bunches in the mid-1900s, and it is a standout amongst the most critical restorative data from that point onward. In 1907, the principal cross coordinating occurred, which implies the examination of the inconsistency of the giver's and the beneficiary's blood type. Ten years after it, the primary blood warehouse was made. In the following two decades, the blood transfusion benefits just as blood offices were made and the act of blood donation systematized [1]

Taking fresh blood and its preservation of every blood donor society or organization. Blood focus needs quality frameworks and innovative foundation to keep up great lab rehearses regardless of substantial remaining task. In this way enrollment of intentional contributors, appropriate gathering and part partition procedure and screening of gathered blood for transfusion transmissible diseases (TTI) are the fundamental necessities of the blood security. Immunohematology lab capacities 24 hours, 365 days and in charge of providing perfect blood. To counteract manual blunders this research facility ought to ideally have computerization.

As per World Health Organization (WHO), India is confronting 30%-35% of a blood shortage consistently. Despite the fact that India has over 1.2 billion populace, it is yet confronting blood shortage. The issue is not absence of donors, however discovering giver when required. Profiting medicinal services office by means of portable is another point of view, [5], which plans to expand social insurance administration. Expanded utilization of cell phone affects the fast development of human services. Numerous portable application improvement organization India, USA, and UK have created versatile applications for finding blood banks.

The mobile applications are area based as well as organization based. They help in keeping track of the earlier blood donors and receivers. They allow the history to help the organizers track the donor as well as receiver’s needs [4].

Methods

Research papers relating to the utilization of mobile applications in blood donations were identified from Google Scholar, Science Direct, NCBI, PubMed (up to 2019), and World Wide Web (blogs, news, and magazine articles). The following key terms were searched as headings or text words in the titles and abstracts: “Blood Donation, Mobile Applications, Technology, and Social Media, Saudi Arabia”. The relevant data and papers were evaluated properly and the following results were obtained.

Results

These days, blood donation is a broad work on sparing a huge number of lives. As indicated by the estimations of the WHO, around 108 million units of gave blood are gathered overall yearly; and around 100 blood focuses in 168 nations report gathering a sum of 83 million blood donations. In spite of the fact that an expansion of 10.7 million blood donations from willful unpaid benefactors has been accounted from 2008 to 2013, we cannot take a load off about this number, since somebody needs blood like clockwork. What's more, as a rule, it is exceptionally hard to discover blood givers.

The same number of people know the procedure resembles the accompanying: the benefactor goes into a blood donation focus or a human services office. Specialists screen benefactors for wellbeing dangers, analyze them for indications of ailments transmissible through blood donation, and decide their blood type. At that point, blood is gotten ordinarily as entire blood from a vein, and the typical measure of donation is 450 milliliters. The gathered blood is generally put away in a blood bank as independent segments, and can be put away for a brief timeframe. Red blood cells (RBC), the most regularly utilized segment, have a timeframe of realistic usability of 35– 42 days at refrigerated temperatures [5].

In one of the articles, the researchers explained that blood donation has three sorts: it very well may be intentional, paid or performed with the assistance of relatives. The last may happen when a patient is in a dangerous condition because of a fender bender or whatever other mishap, where it is important to act in all respects rapidly.

Motivational Quotes- Blood Donation

The motivational quotes and stories form these applications encourage everybody to give blood. In addition to the fact that they receive for the most part a bar of chocolate or a canned brew as a reward a while later, yet it has medical advantages for contributors also, for instance it decreases dangerous amounts of iron. Not to talk about the way that a solitary unit of blood can profit more patients and spare more lives – as it tends to be isolated into different parts and give just the essential blood segment to a specific patient [2].

Solution of Donated Blood Tracking

One of the two finalists, Dynamical Biomarkers Group, conveyed a solution in what resembles a cross between an emergency treatment pack and an angling supplies fishing supply container. It displayed different blood tests in the pack close by sensors estimating crucial signs and a well-informed scope. It is unmistakable that the contestants are taking a stab at making a basic diagnosing process at the purpose of-care (near the patient wherever her or she might be).

It is hard to select blood donors, as it requires some investment and vitality from the piece of the benefactor. There are numerous correspondence methodologies for compelling enlistment. For instance, the Saudi Red Crescent Authority or many blood donation focuses for the most part suggest their best tips on their sites how to select donors and how to impart the objectives and conceivable consequences of this generally charitable activity [6].

The National Health Service's Blood and Transplant

In addition, afterward there are the splendid correspondence crusades. The National Health Service's Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) in the UK thought of a web-based social networking effort entitled 'Missing sort' amid the nation's National Blood Week in 2015 to bring issues to light to the way that the quantity of blood donors dropped by 40 percent in the most recent decade. They banded together with different well conspicuous brands, and began to expel letters from road signs. Every one of the letters, for example, 'A' 'B' or 'O' flagged blood types. Indeed, even the Daily Mirror distributed a 600 thousand duplicate print with missing letters; even Radio 1 got the story. The outcomes were extraordinary. They contacted two billion individuals and 30 thousand new donors enrolled amid the week [4].

Variety of Mobile Applications

Gupte, 2015 reviewed some of the blood donation applications around the area. The group of five understudies of IIT Madras have created Bloodline versatile application. This application empowers us to associate blood donors. By utilizing web based life and area based administrations, contributor can be found rapidly. Bloodline will give you a rundown of those donors who are prepared to help you at crisis time.

Red Cross creates Blood contributor. This application enables donors to follow the blood has achieved the clinic. Highlights as if acquiring one of kind identifications to gladly share donor’s accomplishment by means of online life has made this application increasingly well known [4].

Vindhu is a social blood donation application created by Kudanai. This application gives highlights as if getting the notice when somebody needs blood, and furthermore contributor will be educated that when he can give blood once more. The application likewise gives data about blood history. While LifeBank enables beneficiary to interface contributor straightforwardly. Popcorn Apps Inc. creates this application. This application likewise finds close-by blood banks and emergency clinic [10].

Saudi Red Crescent Authority

Saudi Ministry of Health is in the process of creating Blood Banking application. Its central goal is to hold blood and give at the season of crisis. This application bolster android, iOS, Windows, Blackberry stages. However, they have already adopted the system of Blood Bank Mail. “Seighali, Fariba, and others, have described that the Blood Bank of Azerbaijan project is a project in collaboration with the Blood Bank Department of the UNDP and the Ministry of Health. The idea goes back to the provision of a database to facilitate the process of communication with others as well as the work of counting the number of communicable diseases” [2].

Life Donor, Saudi Arabia

“It is a system based on GIS integrated in android mobile application and website. In case of emergency like rare blood group seeker can request for the blood. The donor who are nearby to location are tracked by the android application GIS. It is based on GIS; the detail into information is given to any user. User login to web application that stores his/her information. There is no proper security for personal details which can lead to misuse by third parties”. [12]

Effectiveness of Mobile Applications

Almalki, Mohammed et al also discussed the improvement of intuitive models trialing three classifications of highlights: individual administrations, (for example, booking); internet based life, (for example, sharing the donation involvement with companions to bring issues to light); and information representations, (for example, nearby blood stock dimensions). [10].

A survey by Lemmens et al. among non-donors found that battles to select fresh recruits donors should attempt to improve self-viability, disposition (for example blood donations are definitely not difficult, exorbitant, or unrewarding), and individual good standards as to donations, and abstract standards (for example endorsement of group of friends).

Steele et al. found that while large amounts of charitableness, sympathy, and social duty persuades individuals to give blood, these pointers are definitely not identified with benefactor recurrence. Rather, they suggest that enrolling endeavors ought to likewise address comfort of blood donations, network security, and individual advantages. As far as close to home advantages, investigate on the effect and impacts of giving blood on donors found that the dominant part of impacts are certain and durable, for example, feeling fulfilled or an expanded feeling of prosperity [5].

In a research study conducted by Foth et al., 2013, the quick ascent of portable correspondence innovations can possibly drastically change and improve blood giver enrollment and maintenance endeavors. Study structure and techniques: E-mail solicitations were sent to blood donors in a huge metropolitan zone to take an interest in a Web-based study intended to measure their status and intrigue level for a blood donation versatile ('application') [9].

Application highlights desired by most respondents were the capacities to demand arrangements every minute of every day (76.8%) and to get arrangement affirmations rapidly (81.3%). Many were worried about getting an excessive number of cautions or messages (64.1%) or inadequate insurance for individual data (53.5%). Largely, 67.7% of respondents demonstrated that they were probably going to utilize a blood donation versatile application.

Probability was not essentially extraordinary by sex or ethnicity, and the effect of training level was restricted. Donors who presently made donation arrangements by means of phone or a site were similarly liable to utilize such an application. Notwithstanding, donors more established than 45 years were more uncertain than younger donors (p = 0.001), and donors with in excess of five lifetime donations were more probable than less successive donors to utilize such an application [8].

Discussion and Conclusion

The review provided insights into the use of application to work towards awareness, collection and delivery of blood. This element must be considered premier in light of the fact that the client ought to have the capacity to get required data from the application even with no web network. Disconnected mode in application levels when we are in remote territories. Some applications depend on the web however; the application that works even disconnected will be a superior decision.

Especially in cases of younger generation, the donors are motivated via mobile applications and the use of social media. The appreciation and the praise they get while being nominated the blood donors given them access to the right type and the healthy blood of the young individuals. Several studies have shown that the utilization of mobile applications helped in raising blood donations. Saudi Arabia’s organizations are working on the same strategy. However, there is need to develop an effective strategy with a wide range database with security.