The blood donor app will be released in English and Swedish
On December 17th, the blood donor app will be released in English and Swedish. The new language versions will make the app even more user-friendly.
Blood donors have warmly received the blood donor app, which was launched a year ago, and have strongly requested an expansion of the language selection. We can now respond to the wishes of thousands of blood donors.
In the past two years, nearly 8,000 people who speak Swedish as their mother tongue have donated blood. During the same period, about 3,000 English-speaking donors have donated blood. The new language versions provide users with the opportunity to utilize all the app’s features in their own language.
“Swedish speakers are an exceptionally active donor group, their share of blood donors (7%) is larger than their share of the entire population (5,2%). We are pleased to improve our services in Swedish just before Christmas,” says Johanna Castrén, head of blood donation at Blood Service.
The Christmas and New Year period is a special time for blood supply. Patients need help even during Christmas when many others are on holiday.
A Broad and Diverse Donor Base as a Goal
The proportion of people with foreign backgrounds in Finland’s population has doubled in the past ten years. However, the current blood donor base does not sufficiently represent the patient group, which also includes rare blood groups that are otherwise few in Finland.
More new donors are needed, as currently only 3% of the population donates blood. Blood Service aims to strengthen the donor base through various measures: An important goal is to ensure that there are enough voluntary blood donors representing all parts of the population in Finland. The blood donor app’s trilingualism helps achieve this goal.
75,000 Downloads
Currently, the app has been downloaded by 75,000 blood donors. The app shows information such as:
- blood group
- the next possible donation date
- previous visits (since 2000)
- hemoglobin values measured during blood donation
In addition, the app shows the nearest donation locations and provides easy access to appointment booking and the blood donor’s health questionnaire. By allowing the app’s notifications, one receives messages about exceptional situations directly to the phone. Blood Service can inform blood donors about acute critical situations, such as major accidents. The emergency message feature is used only in exceptional emergency situations and not for regular information.
We continue to work on developing the app, and the next update is scheduled for January 2025.
