24 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide with 289K active cases in Pakistan. Despite the fact that 13.5 million victims have recovered from this virus, this has been a cause of global concern for over 6 months now with unexpected variations that have raised several questions on its outbreak. With a vaccine still not finalised and multiple waves said to outbreak, the future of our safety is still under threat.
Meanwhile, researchers have found that plasma of the recovered patients can help save the lives of other COVID-19 victims. Since then, there has been mayhem to find plasma donors. Social media has played an important role in trying to connect plasma donors with those who require it. But there are certain limitations in this process. People struggle with finding a donor in time due to a communication lag that has persisted on digital platforms. Due to the clutter surrounding digital media, and influx of spam messages and comments; communication gets lost overtime. Therefore, there was a need for a platform that could bridge the gap between the donor and the person who is in need of it.
Three students from IBA and LUMS stepped forward to build an app that could bridge this gap. Hence, the PlasmaWarrior was born, to save the lives of COVID-19 victims and providing an ease of access to recovered victims who voluntarily wanted to share their plasma. Who are these students and how did they come up with this brilliant initiative? Let’s find out in an exclusive interview with the PlasmaWarrior core team below.
Behind The Scenes
The brains behind this initiative is Mustafa Baig from IBA. He is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences and is currently in his junior year. He uses his skill set of developing apps for different clients which allows him to fulfil his dreams. But the idea for PlasmaWarrior is entirely for a social cause. The inspiration behind this initiative was an incident of an unjust denial that put humanity in question. A man from within his community was denied a plasma due to sectarian differences. That made him realise that it was time for him to do something to help save the lives of such people who are denied of plasma or are simply unable to find a donor. Humanity prevailed.
He immediately sat down to start working on an application using React Native and decided to show the prototype to his friend Afaq Ahmed. Afaq is also in his junior year at IBA where he is pusuing his bachelor’s in Business Administration. Impressed by the working model of PlasmaWarrior, he immediately came on board. He told us that PlasmaWarrior is the perfect solution to the limitations of plasma donor groups on social media. Afaq then contacted his friend Amar Ramnani from LUMS who is currently in his third year of LLB program. He appreciated Mustafa’s efforts in developing the application for PlasmaWarrior and helped formed a team to transit the work for the app.
Launch of PlasmaWarrior
In a matter of two weeks, the PlasmaWarrior app was available on PlayStore for download. Mustafa told us that the release of the application was delayed due to Google’s policies related to COVID-19. He had to update the app’s privacy policy and wait several days before he got the approval. Despite a lot of technical hindrances and a limited budget, the trio was determined to bring PlasmaWarrior in the market.
Mustafa did not take any funds in making this app. It is remarkable how a third-year undergraduate student invested all of his savings on a social cause. He realizes at the mere age of 21 the importance of working for humanity and is dedicated to his work. Afaq and Amar also show the same sense of maturity and responsibility which is the reason for PlasmaWarrior coming into existence.
PlasmaWarrior is the first application for the donation of plasma where people can find plasma donors as well as donate plasma.
How does It work?
Their application is ready to use. All you have to do is go to PlayStore and download the PlasmaWarrior app. You can look around and search for donors and create an account for yourself using an email address and password. This way you can get to know the details of the donors and get in contact with them. If you want to become a donor, then you will have to click on a command which says ‘Do you want to become a Plasma Warrior?‘. A form will pop up that will ask you to upload an image of the COVID positive report, the image of the anti-body test report, blood group, name, and contact info. This ensures that the correct donors are listed and legitimizes the process of plasma donation.
Furthermore, the team has also formulated 3-point criteria for all the donors:
- Prior diagnosis of COVID-19.
- It has been 2 weeks since the recovery from COVID-19.
- Eligible to donate.
Security and Privacy
Accordingly, the documents provided in the form ensures that the donors meet the above criteria. If they fail to do so, they are not listed as a PlasmaWarrior. The privacy policy ensures that PlasmaWarrior does not save any of the information provided by the donors on its server.
Besides, the application also provides a red flag option which allows the donors to hide their visibility during the time they are ineligible to donate.
The Future of PlasmaWarrior
As we gradually move towards a post-COVID-19 world, the trio hopes to take their venture to the next level. Soon, the application will also be used as a blood donation app. Their app works on a Careem/Uber model, which makes it easy to use anywhere in the world and allows users to find donors in their vicinity.
They are ready to take in volunteers willing to work with them in this cause. If you want to be a part of the PlasmaWarrior team or want to become a PlasmaWarrior, you can contact them on Facebook or visit their Website.
A Beacon of Hope for the COVID Drenched World
This project is endearing to the trio and they are very proud of it. Mustafa is also working on the IOS version of the application and hopes to launch it soon. Afaq and Amar are tirelessly working with their marketing team for the outreach of PlasmaWarrior. They believe that an application like theirs is what the COVID drenched world needs right now. It is the beacon hope we all were looking for.
While the researchers work on a vaccine it is pertinent that we as individuals play our part in saving the lives of the COVID-19 victims. Mustafa, Afaq, and Amar have already set their foot in this cause and have become the heroes in light of this pandemic.
We do not have to make an app to make a difference. The role we can play is with our empathy and humanity taking precautions for our well being and the well being of others. Even the simplest of acts of wearing our masks when we go out, maintaining a distance of six feet in public, and frequently using sanitizers or properly washing our hands, we can be the heroes in the lives of our friends and families.
We asked Mustafa if he could describe what PlasmaWarrior is for him in one word. He described it as ‘Hero’.
We are proud of these students as they built this app to help save lives of COVID-19 victims. We hope to see PlasmaWarrior making the heroic difference we need.
