A medical emergency system for Rh-Negative individuals: A conceptual design approach

Abstract

There is generally very low availability of rhesus D-negative blood in the blood banks and a scarcity of Rh-negative blood donors in our society, despite the high prevalence of the rhesus D-positive (RhD+) blood group. Consequently, there is often a delay in the transfusion for patients with Rh-negative blood, resulting in prolonged hospital stays and increased morbidity and mortality of the affected patients. Moreover, public awareness concerning the negative blood type and its consequent rhesus incompatibility issues during pregnancy and following childbirth is very low. This research proposes a conceptual design of a mobile medical emergency application that would serve as a registry for individuals with the scarce Rhesusnegative blood type in society. This would be achieved through awareness campaigns, free blood group testing, and data aggregation from hospitals, laboratories and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The system comprises several modules, including a central database for the application backend featuring relational schemas for donors (Rhesus), Rhesusnegative individuals (RhesusNeg), and healthcare facilities (Hospitals). Other modules include processing, message broadcast, contacts, view/filter, system administration, and user interface. The message broadcast module monitors the entire platform for any Rhesus-negative blood request or registration of any new Rhesus-negative person. If these two events occur, the module is activated and a mobile request is broadcast to several medical personnel and facilities simultaneously. The system would provide a novel mobile platform to connect patients in need of Rhesus-negative blood with potential donors, who would be contacted by medical personnel for timely donations.