LifeBank is able to reduce the blood delivery time from 24 hours to less than 45 minutes (HELLORF)

In a late afternoon, Lagos, Nigeria, the largest agglomeration on the African continent with 21 million inhabitants, is teeming with life in its streets. Passers-by hurriedly return home, exhausted from a day's work, while for drivers, it is rush hour. The latter are moving at a snail's pace, except for Joseph Kalu, a delivery boy on a motorcycle like no other. Joseph works for LifeBank, a technology company linking blood supply to hospital patients. His mission? Deliver the blood he carries in his refrigerated container as quickly as possible, to help save a life.

Necessity-driven invention

Founded in 2016 in Lagos by Temie Giwa-Tubosun, a 34-year-old Nigerian-American, LifeBank is an innovative technological and logistics startup designed to meet Nigeria's vital need for a safe and sufficient supply of blood. The company, which aims to save a million lives in Africa in 10 years, has since its launch transferred 19,546 units to nearly 900 hospitals and screening centers and has helped save nearly 6,000 lives. The company has already extended its activities to the distribution of oxygen and hopes to add vaccines and anti-venoms.

By designing a system to link blood banks and hospitals, LifeBank was able to reduce the delivery time from 24 hours to less than 45 minutes. "Often, in the event of a hemorrhage, a person only has between 20 minutes to 2 hours to live. So there is no time to lose," said Giwa-Tubosun.

A donor's blood only has a lifespan of six weeks. It often happens that it is not even used before the expiry date, because doctors have trouble finding the blood type they need. Giwa-Tubosun realized that it was mainly a logistical problem: "Doctors and blood banks had to find a way to communicate with each other," she said.

By mapping each site specializing in the distribution of blood products in Lagos, from hospitals to blood banks, Giwa-Tubosun found the solution. Deliveries are made by motorbike to thwart the traffic jams in Lagos and the poor state of the infrastructure. Bluetooth padlocks seal each transport box so that only the intended recipient can open it.

Doctors are now able to request a blood type and instantly access a card designed to track delivery. With this model, blood is generally used within a maximum of one week after the date of storage in a blood bank, waste is practically eliminated, and what is more, supply finally meets demand.

Air transport

The young startup is constantly innovating: it is now adding drones to its mobility fleet to bring blood to patients in places that are difficult to access. "After running our operations for three years, we knew there were patients we couldn't reach in time, particularly in areas with high crime. So we have to go through the air," Giwa-Tubosun told CNN.

According to the founder of the company, drones will only provide blood in emergency situations where patients are difficult to reach.

In partnership with the Information Network Security Agency (INSA), the Ethiopian Government agency responsible for exploring the technology, the LifeBank team successfully conducted a drone delivery trial in Ethiopia. "What we did in Ethiopia was like an experiment, to demonstrate that we can make deliveries. We did it for a few weeks and it was a success," claimed the entrepreneur.

Drones are programmed to automatically take samples from blood banks and deliver them to laboratories or hospitals without any form of human control.

LifeBank also plans to test and launch its drone delivery services in other regions, including in Nigeria.

Mobilizing donors

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, needs 1.8 million units of blood each year, but the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) collects only about 66,000 units per year, which leaves a deficit of more than 1.7 million pints of blood, according to the country's health ministry.

Before the launch of LifeBank, collection and distribution of blood in Lagos could take several hours or even days.

Besides the transport, having plenty of blood sources is also an essential link in the blood supply chain. For the LifeBank platform to be viable, Giwa-Tubosun knew she had to increase blood donation. "I knew from the start that donors would always be an essential link in the distribution process. Without supplies, what can we deliver?" she said.

On the LifeBank donor app, Nigerians can make an appointment using a map showing the various local blood banks and get more details on how a blood sample is taken.

" I was sick once, and almost died. I understand how it feels to volunteer to [donate blood] to people who need it. We give life to someone who is on the verge of losing it," said Oluwaseun Adeolu, a LifeBank blood donor.

By connecting donors and blood organizations, LifeBank has registered more than 5,800 blood donors. How has the young company been able to mobilize so many people? Giwa-Tubosun has a simple answer: "You would be surprised [by] people's responses. Most of the time they don't refuse, especially if you explain why it is so important."

Thanks to her initiative, Giwa-Tubosun became the first winner of the Africa Netpreneur Prize from the Jack Ma Foundation in November 2019. She received $250,000 as prize money. "The award will give me the resources to develop LifeBank and expand our presence in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. I look forward to continuing my journey to resolve the issues and have a significant impact on the future of Africa," She said with excitement.

(Comments to zanjifang@chinafrica.cn)