In a country like India, its quite a herculean task to spread news in times of need quickly. Thanks to social media platforms, it has become easier for everyone to reach out to others within minutes. And in lieu of this, Facebook has come up with a solution for the blood needs of the country.

The social media platform is coming out with a new tool for its 201 million Indian users that will make it easier for people to donate blood to the needy and will also help connecting blood banks and hospitals to the willing donors that are residing nearby.

Facebook is used for casual conversations, sharing moments and memories, and even for business purpose in India. As reported by BGR, with this new tool, that comes on October 1 – National Blood Donor Day – people can get help from this virtual space in a more fruitful manner for quick help. The tool will help match blood donors with hospitals, blood banks and individuals in need especially.

Currently, a lot of people post on help groups and forums for their critical needs such as the requirement for blood and not all the requirements get the needed attention. Facebook’s new tool comes into play here as it will make things easier for those in need. Users will be asked to sign up as eligible donors and for signing up, you have to tell your blood group and also whether you have donated blood before. Upon successful registration, you can choose to keep this information private or to share it on your news feed to further spread awareness and in turn encourage your friends to register as donors as well.

“Our teams have identified a real need in India,” quoted Hema Budaraju, a Facebook product manager for South Asia. “People are using Facebook literally thousands of times a week to look for blood donors.”

Facebook spoke to hospitals, NGOs, and even blood banks before designing this new tool. For now, it is only signing up donors, but in the upcoming weeks, the social media giant will launch a way for groups or individuals that are seeking blood to send out requests. Donors in the right or nearby location who have the correct blood group will receive a notification.

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Not just matching donors, the tool could also help in spreading awareness about the blood donation process.

“It is very important to [educate] people about it so that we have more voluntary blood donations in our country,” Singh added.

Facebook has indeed taken a step forward to make use of its platform to promote and help with a greater cause.