In case there's an urgent requirement for blood, just send a text message to this number and the phone numbers and names of donors of the blood group required will be messaged back to you in less than 10 minutes. The SMS accesses a database of 45,000 donors across the country, listed on www.indianblooddonors.com.

The service is the brainchild of railway superintendent Khushroo Pocha, who set it up with the help of his wife Fermin. Not even registered as a non-governmental organisation, Pocha simply describes his work as "a system that works on its own".

Pocha (40) started the website eight years ago. "People from rural areas come every day to cities for treatment. Often, they require blood and don't know how to source it. They have to run from pillar to post. I thought a website listing potential donors could help," he said.

His own struggle to get blood for an ailing friend and the sight of another patient dying for want of blood spurred him on.

Called to deliver a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, on social entrepre neurship in 2007, the students set him thinking whether the website was the complete answer. One of the questions raised was: How easy is it for a poor rural Indian in an urban area to access the internet? "I began to wonder how to make the service truly accessible," Pocha said.

Inspiration struck when he used an SMS service to get a cricket score. He realised that the concept could work for blood donation too.

The Pocha couple started work on the SMS system using their website as a launchpad. Every day, 10 to 15 donors register on the website, which covers 300 towns and cities across India. "This is my calling in life," said a beaming Pocha.

Pocha says that a checks and balances system has also been put in place wherein numbers accessing the database are stored. If the same number keeps pulling out donors or there is a hint of misuse, it is blocked.

 IN AN EMERGENCY...

1.  Type ‘Blood' followed by STD code of city where it is required, blood group needed and sender's first name, with a space between each detail. SMS it to 5676775.

2.  List of donors and their numbers is messaged back.

3.  Donors can register via SMS. Type 'Donor', followed by blood group, STD code and first name, with spaces between details.

URL: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=03_04_2008_001_008&typ=0&pub=264