Blood Hero App - Privacy Policy (Version 0.1)

Last updated: 24 June 2025

1. Introduction

The Blood Hero App (name provisional) is part of a research project jointly conducted by the University of Southampton (UoS), United Kingdom, and the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Ghana. The project is designed to strengthen the resilience of Ghana’s health system and enhance public safety through equitable blood-donation services, in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). It seeks to foster international partnership and generate evidence for digital health interventions, thereby contributing to universal health coverage and reducing inequalities. The project focuses on strengthening emergency healthcare through a cross-platform digital blood-donation system in rural Ghana, aiming to improve real-time donor coordination and hospital response efficiency.

2. Prototype Phase and Simulated Use

This app is currently in the prototype phase and will undergo simulated use and user evaluation at UoS and UHAS. All testing phases involve simulations only; no actual blood donation takes place. These simulations assess donor-recruitment communication methods and the overall blood-request and donation-management workflow.

2.1 Intended Use Disclaimer

The Blood Hero App is not a clinical decision support tool or medical device. It is solely an auxiliary platform to assist hospitals with donor recruitment, communication and operational management processes.

3. Data Collection and Use

• Registration Data: Participants provide demographic details such as name, email address, phone number, gender, address, height, weight, education level and past donation experiences. All identities are either fabricated by participants or supplied as mock data by the research team.
• Usage Data: During app use, data generated include timestamps, geographical and location data, and request–response details.
• Device Information: Device model and operating system are also collected.

All data collected during this prototype phase are for research purposes only. At this stage, all data generated are expected to be mock data produced during simulated use and will not include any real user information. Any data arising from unsupervised use of the app with real personal details is entirely outside our oversight, and we assume no responsibility for it. All data at this stage will be cleared periodically and not retained long-term.

4. Permissions

• Internet Access: To connect the app to our servers.
• Camera Access: To scan QR codes.
• Location Access: For real-time tracking of donors’ journeys to hospitals.
• Push Notifications: To deliver timely updates on blood requests and status changes.

5. Data Security

All data are transmitted over HTTPS and encrypted using the AES standard. Stored data are protected with strict access controls on secure servers.

6. Third-Party Services

We may engage third-party services for analytics, hosting, and other functions. These services operate under their own privacy policies, which we recommend you review.

We do not share your personal data with third parties except as necessary to provide the app's functionality or as required by law.

7. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When significant changes occur, we will notify you by posting the revised policy on this page and, where appropriate, through in-app notifications.

8. Children’s Privacy

This app is intended only for adults aged 18 or older. We do not knowingly collect data from minors.

9. Contact

If you have any questions about this policy, please contact us at:
rg4sun@gmail.com