Donors in Sweden receive SMS when their blood has helped someone



    Continuing the theme of an Australian donor who donates blood almost every week for 60 years and saved a huge number of lives. Unfortunately, in recent years the number of donors has been steadily declining in many countries of the world. For example, in the UK there are now 40% fewer donors than ten years ago.

    Swedish authorities have found a way to encourage people to donate blood. The method is surprisingly simple, but can be quite effective.

    Each time your blood is used for transfusion, you will automatically receive a text message on your mobile phone. In many cases, this means that blood really saved someone's life (because transfusion is used in emergency cases).

    The first text message is gratefully sent when a person donates blood, and the second - when it is actually used.

    “We are constantly trying to come up with ways to emphasize the importance of donors,” said Karolina Blom Wiberg, public relations manager at the Stockholm Blood Service, in an interview with The Independent. “We want to give feedback in order to thank them for their efforts, and we consider this method to be pretty good.”

    According to the blood service, such messages give donors a clearer positive feedback on how they help other people - which encourages them to come again.

    In addition, the publication of messages on social networks makes people discuss this topic when they see that their “friends” are saving someone else's life. This also has a positive effect. “We got a certain effect on social networks and traditional media thanks to these SMS. But most of all, we make sure that our donors return to us again, ”said Carolina Blom Wiberg. This program was experimented for the first time three years ago in Stockholm, and after positive feedback, it began to gradually spread to other regions of Sweden.







    In Sweden, as in other countries, the number of donors is gradually decreasing. The authorities decided that maximum openness would be a good way to counter blood shortages, including the constant publication of the actual blood reserves of each group in storage. This inside information has been made public. The idea is that when people see their blood supply coming to an end, it will push them to action. Ordinary donors, if they really see the problem, raise the alarm on social media.



    As it turned out, social media can be a very effective channel to convey information to donors. The most important thing is that they understand the importance of the work they are doing.

    In general, such blood service activity can be called the gamification of saving lives. “Oh, I went to the third level! The third life has been saved! ”

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