Local IT company Nextacloud Technologies have launched an updated version of their Bloodkad mobile app that now tracks users’ donor records and notifies of blood shortages in Brunei.
Bloodkad was first developed in 2017 to help address blood shortages in the country by first digitising the written questionnaire and declaration required by the Blood Donation Centre (BDC) as part of their standard screening process for new and returning donors, which in turn shortened waiting and screening times.
The app has since expanded to enable users to schedule appointments to donate blood at BDC and soon the Jerudong Park Medical Centre (JPMC), receive notifications of blood donation events, as well as make individual recommendations on when users are next eligible to donate based on their donor records.
CEO and co-founder of Nextacloud Technologies Agus Muslim said Bloodkad has recorded 5,100 donations and 3,300 users in three years and will remain free for the public to use.
To further increase user engagement, a community feature enabling users to request for blood and a health promotions section will be trialed on the app.
“The idea with the latest app is to build a ecosystem for the users; the community aspect will enable users to request for blood (validated by the health agencies) that will then generate a notification to donors in the app that are eligible to donate,” said Agus.
“Meanwhile under Bloodkad Hive; users will be able to view health-related products, services and promotions.”
Nextacloud is also providing healthcare agencies with access to backend data that will help them target blood donation efforts better.
“With access to user statistics, they can assess a number of variables, including the concentration of donors and blood types in which areas; what times and dates are the most popular,” added Agus.
Nextacloud will also be phasing out Bloodkad’s web-based version, focusing on growing their user base solely through their mobile app available on both android and iOS.
Bloodkad is currently running a three month blood donation drive campaign which will end on December 24.
