Chiara Schettino, from Avellino, is only 19 years old when he has to face a leukemiaA terrible disease, which is treated primarily through blood transfusions made possible by donations: a complicated, slow, and inefficient mechanism. And so, in 2023, with her friend and colleague Filippo Toni, also very young, Chiara created the app Red, an application born and developed with the aim of simplifying and speeding up the blood donationsChiara and Filippo met while attending an innovation program and launched their startup in 2023.
The app is available on both Google Play and the App Store and has a specific goal: encourage blood donations, especially by young peopleAs data from the National Blood Center shows, the number of donors between the ages of 18 and 45 has increased in recent years, although much more can be done to compensate for the progressive aging of the donor base.
Hence Rosso's mission: focus on the youngest, with a focus on Generation Z to ensure that essential and important generational turnover, and create a new community of stable donorsWith a huge advantage for those who need the donation: Rosso helps reduce waiting times for recipient patients.
According to data provided by the Ministry of Health, over 1 million Italians donate blood, although there was a slight decline in blood collection in the first months of 2025 compared to the previous year. Plasma collection, however, remains positive, exceeding the total for the first four months of 2024. Each year, on average, approximately 2,8 million transfusions are performed for 639.000 patients: an amount that saves lives. approximately 1.800 lives per day.
Rosso, by guiding users through every step of the donation journey, is reaching a new generation of blood and plasma donors. It also offers this younger generation the opportunity to ask questions and get support from professionals via the app's chat. A bridge between associations, hospitals and citizens to create an active solidarity network.
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Red, moreover, promotes blood donations even within the workplace involving companies through training events and the activation of specific services.
Cover image source: Today.it
Read also:
- Every blood donor can save a human life (Franco Mandelli)
- Organ donations: 13 million Italians ready
- Kidney donations: Claudia gives her kidney to her twelve-year-old second child. And 82-year-old Mario gives it to his fifty-year-old son.
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