1999 First Website
Indianblooddonors.com was started in 1999 by Khushroo and Fermin Poacha when they saw a patient die for want of blood in a Government Hospital. Anyone volunteering to be a blood donor could sign up on the website and patients or relatives of patients who needed blood could use the site to search for blood donors online.
2005 Creating an SMS helpline
In 2005, realizing that the internet was not yet accessible to the common man, an SMS helpline was created to help more patients get lifesaving blood. A person needing a blood donor had to send an SMS in a predefined format to get matched with donors of the specified blood group. The SMS helpline was accessible and easy to use for the common man and the poor.
2013 Moving to IVR
With smartphones and the improvements in internet accessibility, the duo got a downloadable mobile app built. While the app was downloaded and used, we faced a challenge. Recognizing that the use of SMS was high but mobile app downloads and usage was lower, in 2013 Khushroo and Fermin launched an Interactive Voice Response System. A person needing blood donors had to simply call a number to get connected with a blood donor in that city.
2022WhatsApp Bot
With WhatsApp bots coming into vogue they launched a Whattapp Bot in 2022 which continued working till 2023.
2023 Back to the drawing board
Over the years, there have been various challenges. Donors mobile numbers change, or they migrate to new cities or across the globe. Some donors pass away, others become medically unfit to donate blood. Problems like these made the database obsolete, wasting precious time of patients or relatives as they tried to contact donors.We knew that it was time for change. But what was the answer?
A Social Breakthrough ?
Social media has been used to make information go viral in times of emergencies. WhatsApp and Telegram are popular apps used by Gen-Z . Khushroo and Fermin have decided to use WhatsApp to create a Community of Donors. That’s how this new website is born.