Social media websites, such as Facebook and MySpace, consist of over 120 million active users, with 250,000 new users signing up every day. These social media outlets are used to connect with friends, family, and businesses on a personal level. The average user has 120 "friends," and with social media technology it is easy for each user to instantaneously spread information to all of their friends with the click of a button. More than 24 million pieces of content are shared each month with these friends (links, stories, pictures, applications), creating an even greater recruitment and retention opportunity for blood centers. Facebook is made up of profiles, pages, and applications which can be used in different ways to highlight a blood center while targeting a blood donor to take action.

Ydonate is an interactive Facebook application specifically designed to create value to both the blood donor and the blood center. The downloadable application is personalized for the blood donor and then localized to the blood center to generate donations and boost retention through an online community.

This easy to use tool will allow blood donors across the country to learn about the importance of donating blood while letting them to take action by finding their local community blood center and allowing them to schedule an appointment, all without leaving facebook.