Aarohi Blood Bank Uses Facebook to Increase Blood Donations and Awareness for Children with Thalassemia

“Through Facebook’s Blood Donation feature we are bringing out the hero in everyone. Our vision is to bridge the gap between donors and patients by raising awareness, encouraging voluntary donation and by providing blood to those who cannot afford it, free of cost.”
~ Dr. Aditi Kishore, Secretary, Aarohi Blood Bank

Mission

Aarohi Blood Bank’s mission is to enable the availability of safe blood at an affordable price, and issue free and safe blood to those who cannot afford it, especially to children diagnosed with Thalassemia and children with Leukemia admitted at government hospitals.

Success Story

Thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder characterized by less hemoglobin and fewer red blood cells in the body than normal. Patients often require regular blood transfusions to replace hemoglobin. India is the thalassemia capital of the world with 40 million carriers and over 100,000 patients with thalassemia major needing blood transfusion every month. Around 80 to 90% of the 10,000 babies born each year with the disease die from going undiagnosed or due to lack of proper treatment.

Because Aarohi Blood Bank caters to Thalassemic patients, its dependency on voluntary blood donation, is greater than most other blood banks because patients require regular blood transfusions.

Impact

The feature has led to efficiencies in Aarohi’s voluntary blood donor outreach, by reducing their reliance on camps and donations from families and friends of the children they help. It has also been a faster and more convenient way for them to reach a younger and more eligible donor population.

“Facebook’s Blood Donation feature helped bring more people to Aarohi Blood Bank. Reaching out to people who use social media, we are able to communicate our needs to the community better and tap into donors we were not able to reach out to otherwise.”
~ Dr. Dhiraj Kaveri, Donor Counsellor and Motivator, Aarohi Blood Bank

Goal

Bringing dignity to life

With Facebook’s Blood Donation feature, Aarohi Blood Bank has brought greater awareness to the genetic blood disorder Thalassemia and continues to provide children with free blood for regular transfusions. On a daily basis, they post requests to their Page for specific blood types.

Aarohi Blood Bank is seeing positive impact from Facebook’s Blood Donation feature, helping them move closer to their goal of 100% voluntary blood donations.