Foreign Policy Blogs

Blood Donation by Text

The Times of India has another example of what cell phones can do for a society. Through the website IndianBloodDonors.com people can now send a text message with their urgent request for blood. This is clearly a much more direct means of communication than first finding an internet-connected computer.

Getting the cell phone in the hand of the end user is just one necessary aspect of makin gthis work. Building the website and system of donors, screening the blood, and informing people of the available service are probably more difficult. But the new technology brings new opportunites.

 

Author

Kevin Dean

Kevin Dean is a graduate student pursuing a master's degree in international conflict management and humanitarian emergencies at Georgetown University. Before returning to school in Fall 2006, he spent six years working in the former Soviet Union - most of that time spent in Central Asia. He has managed a diverse range of international development programs for the US State Department and USAID. He has also consulted for several UN agencies and international NGOs, and is fluent in Russian. Kevin is originally from Des Moines, Iowa and studied Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Iowa.