Challenge and Selection

The problem I would like to solve using Design Thinking Approach would be the shortage of blood  and plasma donors during this global pandemic. Currently, life on our planet is battling an  unprecedented problem that has presented itself and it has been testing all the different  organisations and systems we have put into place. If we take into the consideration the situation of  India, along with COVID-19 we have had to face Cyclones, Flooding, Heavy Rainfall, Landslides,  Industrial Accidents and many more disastrous situations that have claimed the life of many. Millions  of people have lost their jobs and have travelled on foot or by public transport back to their native  places. The world currently has over 20 Million people who have been affected by the coronavirus.  The most promising solution has been plasma therapy. For this a person who has been tested  negative has to donate his/her plasma after a certain amount of time to help other patients who are  in critical conditions to recuperate. It has also become even harder for patients with Chronic  illnesses with urgent need of blood transfusions to get blood due to the situation.                            Story telling is a great tool to express our view point and perspective. It allows us to use just the right  words and stir the emotions of our audience and cause intellectual stimulation. By conveying our  story, we can encourage them to introspect and understand the problem at hand in a better and  more insightful way.

Scope and Application

First, in our journey of storytelling we can begin by building empathy in our audience by talking  about people who benefit from blood donations the most. According to reports over 170,000 have  been diagnosed with Leukaemia, where a lot of blood is needed. Even in emergency rooms dealing  with accidents etc, blood plays a vital role in saving lives of people who has lost a lot blood due to  the tragedy that has befallen them. Due to how quickly the virus has started to spread and lockdown  in many countries a lot of people who regularly donated blood is now scared to step out due to fear  of the virus. Because of this there is a lot of pressure on the healthcare system and our blood banks.  A solution needs to be determined in order to make more people aware about the severity of the  situation and to clear the myths that surround blood donation. We need to get more people to  donate blood and the COVID survivors to donate plasma so that lives can be saved. All of this can be  portrayed either by Visual Aids such as videos and pictures as well, to develop empathy. After this  we can move on to busting the myths that surround Blood and Plasma donation to make people  understand that it neither causes weakness or affects their health in anyway. Healthy individuals can  make up this lost blood in no time. We need to look at the data of the people who are currently  enrolled and donate blood regularly and then work on the demographic that seems to be most  detached from it. This way we will be able to figure out where we need to focus our efforts the most  and focus and highlight our story there. Then it can move on to talking about the extremely hygienic  and safe methods that are used by blood banks and hospitals to ensure the safety of donors during  such a hard time. By wearing a mask and gloves we can avoid getting any sort of infections during  our visit to such institutions. All of this can either be made as a video aid or simply into a  presentation using pictures and charts for representing the data.

Insight & Approach

This can easily become a true eyeopener for most people as they have not considered the impact of  such a thing. If I wanted to approach this issue differently, we could have also used the Visualisation  tool, where by simple charts, graphs and other visual aids, the severity of such a situation can be  easily visualised and explained to the audience. I work for an NGO called Robin Hood Army, and this  approach has really worked wonders. We have been able to convince people to become regular  blood donors and become COVID warriors.

I also tried to include moving stories of people’s personal experiences in such situation which helps  others connect to the situation at a very humane level. Due to this course and its insights, I was able  to make a real difference.

