Inspiration
Thalassemia is a disease that worsens the survival of infected people , both physically and mentally. Reading actual experiences of Blood Warriors in tackling this problem, we came to know about children losing valuable transfusions due to last-minute non-availability of donors, families traveling hundreds of kilometers to reach the hospital, and the emotional toll of having a chronic condition.
We were prompted by the question: What if we could promise that every Thalassemia patient would always have a donor match before they even require one? That idea was transformed into ThalaConnect—a kind, AI-powered solution for forecasting, connecting, and caring.
What it does
1.Real-Time Donor-Patient Matching
Matches thalassemia patients with suitable donors automatically , based on blood group , location and the urgency level.
Saves time and effort of the patients or family members in finding donors.
2.AI-Based Forecasting Donor Availability
It uses machine learning models to predict the probability of having a donor based on donation history and geography.Streamlines by focusing canvassing efforts on high-probability donors.
3.Tracking and Activating Donors
Tracks donations made by donors and reminds them of their future capacity to contribute.
Employs gamification (badges, streaks, impact summaries) to encourage repeat donation.
4.Digital Healthcare Ecosystem
Facilitates patients to interact with medical professionals via teleconsultations.
Provides learning materials and support systems to help patients manage their condition effectively.
5.Safe Health Record Storage
Stores patient transfusion history, lab tests, and medical prescriptions securely in an encrypted manner.
Enables blockchain-type audit logging to provide data integrity and transparency.
6.Smooth Incorporation within Domestic Systems
Focused on integration with the e-RaktKosh blood bank network of India and Blood Warriors' Blood Bridge initiative for access to verified donor databases and hospital coordination.
7.Multilingual and Mobile-Friendly Interface
Developed with the ability to support various Indian languages and offline surfing in areas with poor connectivity.
The Methodology of Its Construction
Our proposal is grounded on four basic pillars:
- AI-Driven Donor Matching We used Python and Scikit-learn to create a donor availability prediction model. Features are:
Time since last donation Donor's past prevalence Spatial proximity Blood group compatibility
The model was also trained on artificial donor logs and later integrated into the backend by using REST APIs.
- Cross-Platform Mobile & Web App With Flutter, we created a donor and patient mobile app that included:
Profile creation
Real-time donor request notifications
Transfusion calendar
Virtual health environment
React.js was utilized within the physician and administrative dashboard for managing patient interactions and monitoring donor activity metrics.
- Blockchain-based Health Vault We created a secure health information module that:
Encrypts patient reports and transfusion history with AES encryption
Logs data access activity on Hyperledger Fabric for tamper-proof auditability
Blood Bridge: enabling real-time coordination of hospital volunteers and non-governmental organizations.
Challenges we ran into
1.No actual donor-patient information, so we made our own optimal dataset
2.Ensuring real life alerts
3.Data Privacy laws
4.Donor behaviour prediction
5.Design for digital illiteracy
What we learned
Building ThalaConnect allowed us to deeply comprehend: The complexity of transfusion cycles of blood, particularly for chronic disease conditions like Thalassemia patients who need transfusion every 2–3 weeks. The ethical and legal demands of dealing with sensitive healthcare information and the need for secure-by-design systems. Real-world applications like e-RaktKosh and the Blood Bridge initiative by Blood Warriors, and how one can make interoperable solutions. We also gained hands-on experience in creating apps for low-bandwidth, multilingual, and mobile-first consumers.
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