AMMAN — A new app is aims to fill the gap in blood donation
requests that fill Jordanian social media feeds daily, and aid those asking for
donations of certain blood types for hospitalized friends or family members.
اضافة اعلان
Omar Rayyan, an 18-year-old, recently developed a new
smartphone application called “
Qatra” (meaning “drop” in Arabic) which provides
a platform to connect those requesting blood with potential donors.
“We see a lot of posts on Facebook on this, and I felt like
there should be a platform that makes it easier for blood donors and blood
requesters,” Rayyan told
Jordan News in an interview over the phone.
The aim of the application is to make the blood donation
process faster and more efficient. Rayyan said that he had donated blood a few
times through social media posts. In a few instances, by the time he called the
phone numbers listed in the post the person in need had already passed away.
Rayyan started working on Qatra around two months ago. The
app launched three days ago on iOS with an Android version currently in
development.
“I have been programming for a while now,” he said.
The application, which Rayyan described as simple and
uncomplicated to use, works by sending a notification to individuals who have
signed up and registered their blood types whenever a listing asking for their
specific blood type is posted on the app.
Rayyan also said that the app is currently in the Top 40
list on the
App Store under the category “Health and Fitness”.
The app works by signing up on the platform and then
requesting a blood donation by adding a name, the name of the hospital or blood
bank in
Jordan, and then adding the blood type needed and contact phone number,
according to Rayyan.
Blood donators can also filter their blood type on the
application then connect with the blood requester directly for an easier and
more efficient experience.
According to Rayyan, this is the first blood donation app
designed specifically for Jordan. He plans on expanding it to include more
countries in the future.
“The App Store shows (the number of) downloads after 48
hours. ... The first day there were around 80 downloads,” Rayyan said.
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