Innovation Village recently contacted Temie Giwa Tunbosun, Founder of One Percent Project based in Lagos, Nigeria. She talked about the One Percent Project and the LifeBank App.
The One Percent Project believes in harnessing the collective power of young people to save lives by encouraging the culture of blood donation.
The project implements blood drives in institutions of higher learning and build tools that uses the power of technology to bridge the gap between blood donors and their recipients and we work to create a culture of civic responsibility and participation by regular blood donation.
As at the time of writing, the Project says it has collected 1,651 pints of blood, enough to save more than 4,953 lives since just one pint of blood can save up to three lives.
Here are the highlights of the interview:
Innovation Village (IV): Please tell us about the One Percent Project. What informed the birth of this initiative?
Temie Giwa Tunbosun (TGT): One Percent Project is a year old project. About four years ago, a bomb blast tore through the United Nations Building in Abuja, Nigeria, which left 21 dead and 73 wounded. I remember feeling very helpless about this new terrorism in Nigeria and how our health system wasn’t equipped to respond the way it must. I wanted to help so badly and I was looking around trying to find a way to help and then the calls for blood started coming in. The National Hospital had run out of blood and people were going to die. So a few friends and I decided to build an organization to solve this problem. Thanks to friends like Chude Jideonwo, Egghead Odewale, Iyin Aboyeji, Akin Oyebode, Hez Shobiye, Dr. Maruf Mustapha, Mary Oyefuga, and Kola Tubosun we were able to start collecting blood ASAP. At One Percent, we believe that technology can serve as an enabler to ensure fast innovation to help save lives.
IV: Tell us about the app LifeBank. When was it launched? How many downloads have you had since inception?
TGT: LifeBank App is a web application that connects blood donors to patients in need of blood transfusion during emergencies. It was launched in 2013 during the World Blood Donor Day celebration. We currently have over 1500 people registered on the application. Since, it is a web app, people don’t need to waste their data to download it, all they need to do is to sign up at Lifebank.ng and wait to be called to donate blood or use it to request for blood if and when that is needed. Basically you register and we go silent until you really need the app or someone needs you. So simple right?
IV: How has the app helped the One Percent Project?
TGT: LifeBank App has helped One Percent Project save time by having access to potential blood donors. We know that all the awesome folks registered on the app are willing to donate blood at a moments notice. It’s like a reserve army of lifesavers. How cool is that? Whenever we host a blood drive, all we need to do is send a notification to our registered donors to attend the drive. This makes the whole experience stress free.
IV: Don’t you think the low smart phone ownership in Nigeria will affect the adoption of this app?
TGT: Before our team designed the LifeBank application, we put this factor into consideration. We made sure the LifeBank application sends out text messages as well as emails to donors during emergencies. It was important for us that the app was suitable for everyone and anyone. Therefore, the low smart phone ownership in Nigeria shouldn’t really affect the adoption of the LifeBank app.
IV: What other ways are you looking at to disseminate information about this initiative?
TGT: We rely greatly on the influence of social media, mass media and word-of-mouth. We are also looking for media partners to continue working with us to get the word out about LifeBank.
IV: What are the next steps for the One Percent Project?
TGT: We are currently working on establishing solid partnerships with existing health bodies in Nigeria because we believe that together, we can create a healthier country.
