A startup in India is trying to make it easier for people to donate blood, and it's raised $1 million in its first round of funding, reports the Times of India.
Founded by social entrepreneur Varun Nair, Blod.in aims to make it easier for blood banks and hospitals in India to track donations, and it has already partnered with several hospitals in the state of Tamil Nadu.
The idea is to make it easier for people who need blood to donate, as well as for those who don't.
"There are some investments you make from the pocket and some you make from the heart," Vijay Pravin, co-founder of bitsCrunch, tells the Times.
"Blod is one such team that could save many lives by bridging the gap between technology and blood scarcity in a country like India."
Nair tells the Indian Express that blood scarcity is a big problem in India, where more than a third of the population doesn't have access to blood.
He says he came up with the idea for Blod when he was working in a hospital's haematology department and noticed how difficult it was to keep track of all the donations made that day.
"I thought, why not make it easier for people to donate?" he says.
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