Coney Island Hospital Recruits Blood Donors Online

Coney Island Hospital has partnered with Takes All Types, a non-profit that uses social networking to encourage the internet generation to join the ranks of blood donors.

Takes All Types takes the concept of viral marketing and grassroots campaigning and transforms it into a system for alerting local blood donors when they are needed most. Their Facebook App hooks you into their system. You fill in all your information, including blood type (if you know it) and if supplies of that type run low in your area you’ll be contacted with a request to come donate. If you don’t use Facebook you can also register at their dedicated website or other social networking sites like MySpace and Fanbox. They’ve even got a cellphone network running (text ‘BLOOD’ to 69866).

If, for some reason, you’re precluded or prevented from donating blood you can still join Takes all Types and promote it to your friends.

Coney Island Hospital is paving the way to the future and is the first hospital in New York City to try this approach. Hopefully it will start a deluge of participants as New York City uses 2000 units of blood per day, with Coney Island Hospital using 3000 units last year alone. If you would like to donate blood you have to be eligible first. Which means you’ve got to be between 17 and 75, and at least 110 Lbs. You’re only allowed to donate once every 56 days and should be feeling well the day of your donation! In the meantime don’t forget to join TAT in their quest to keep the blood flowing.

If you want more info you can read the full press release here.