UB-Idea Series: The Bloodmobile

Actually the Bloodmobile idea was a part of an unpublished post from a few weeks ago when I went to a blood donation camp on the ISB campus and was very disheartened with the way it turned out. I then wrote a very acerbic account of what happened that day but decided in the end not to publish it after I realized that most people who had not donated blood outside India actually felt that the blood donation camp was organized very well. But even those that felt everything went well would agree that the blood donation process can be made more efficient and effective with a Bloodmobile.

So this Bloodmobile is basically a bus with a couple of registration desks with the donor databases on the computers, a few very comfortable reclining beds, all the refrigeration required for the blood once drawn and all the food and beverages given after the blood donation. The very first time might take a little longer as they put you in their database but once you are in it, the subsequent times, it is fairly quick. They do some instantaneous blood tests to see if you have a fever and some other simple diagnostics (a quick and dirty HIV test) to make sure you are eligible to donate. Once you are done with the paperwork, you move to the super-comfy reclining beds and you can kick back and let the nurse do her work while you watch TV.

The alternative is a small van carrying rickety triage beds that will need to be unpacked and installed and which are terribly uncomfortable for the donors. Add to that a bunch of paperwork that is repeated every single time, blood packets collected stored in iceboxes and poorly trained medical professionals. With a Bloodmobile and some token but nice incentives like a T-Shirt that proclaims that I am a proud blood donor or something to that effect, more donors can be attracted and donating blood does not have to become an act performed under pressure from unrelenting self-righteous people.

According to the Florida Blood Services website, one of these Bloodmobiles costs around $85,000. But I am sure they can be made a lot cheaper in India. Where is the willing entrepreneur?