A new smartphone free app to increase non-profit blood donations

Lleida/Barcelona (CNA).- The Federation of Blood Donors in Catalonia along with the USE-IT Company have developed a free application for IPhone and Android phones. A kind of app never made before that tells users where the donation points are every moment and lists the user’s number of donations. On the other hand, the President of Grifols, a private Catalan company, asked for a legislative change in Spain in order to pay donors for blood plasma. If the change was carried out, Grifols would pay between €60-70 per week.

Paying for blood donations?

The President of Grifols, Víctor Grifols, pointed out that it would help job creation in Spain. “The company has 147 donation centres in USA where plasma is paid for, like in Germany or Austria”. Those centres here in Spain would create between 5,000 and 6,000 jobs and the amount of $500-600 million in payments for donors. At the same time, Grifols warned about the end of the pharmaceutical industry, threatened by the fall in product prices and the passivity of the Spanish Government.

According to Víctor Grifols, if donor payments do not happen in Spain or other European countries such as France, Italy or Sweden it is due to a “romanticised” inheritance from the Second World War. The businessman thinks voluntary blood-giving campaigns are not enough.

However, the Federation of Blood Donors in Catalonia does not agree with payments. President Marc Ibars thinks this idea would involve the business exploitation of people. Answering Grifols’ proposal, Ibars suggests that the Spanish company, which pays $600 million for plasma in the USA, could spend all that money on promoting donations in Spain.

Numbers of Catalan donors

Although Catalonia has one of the highest levels of blood donations in Spain, set at 37.37 people per one thousand, the last index in 2011 did not reach the WHO’ recommendation –fixed between 43 and 45 per thousand-. Within Catalonia, Lleida, where the app was born, had the highest index with 50.09 per thousand.

Between 35,000 and 40,000 of blood donors are new every year in Catalonia of which 12-14% is between 18 and 25. While the donation level in Catalonia is good (up to 37.37 per thousand) last year it decreased. The app wants to target this younger population.

Developing the app

The Association of Blood Donors of the Urgell County (in western Catalonia) had the first idea a year ago. Later, students at the University of Lleida (UdL) developed the idea. And finally the USE-IT Company made the project become reality. The Federation and the USE-IT Company have made it possible with the support of the Lleida Provincial Council and Catalonia’s Blood Bank. The cost has been estimated at €6,000. The final application has been named ‘Donem Sang’ (‘Let’s donate blood’).

To download ‘Donem Sang’, the user has to write that name on any Apple Store or Play Store applications. Once you get the app, it is ready to be used. The application tracks down the closest donation point and shows information about the place and a route explaining how to go there.

Every user has a profile into ‘Donem Sang’. That means you can see the number of donations made and the app advises you about donation and the best moment to give blood.

With a view to going worldwide

At the moment, the app offers the data it gets from the Blood Bank in Catalan. Spanish, English and French will be available soon as well. The Spanish Ministry of Health and other Autonomies in Spain, such as Navarra or the Basque Country, are interested in the application.