The National Library of Medicine explains that haemorrhage (loss/shortage of blood) can mean the difference between life and death. This is especially dangerous for women in childbirth, making the lack of accessible, safe blood for emergency transfusions not just a medical issue but a national crisis. Early in Nigeria’s healthcare system, it failed to mitigate this situation, and Temie Giwa-Tubosun, the founder and CEO of LifeBank, knew this all too well.
Hospitals often scrambled, desperately calling blood banks, hoping they had the right blood type in stock. Even when they did, getting that blood to the hospital in time was another challenge. Medical supplies that could save lives were stuck in a gridlock of inefficiency, and innocent people were paying the price.
Giwa-Tubosun saw the cracks in the African healthcare system. She wanted to create a safer and healthier world where no hospital would ever have to wonder if blood was available or how long it would take to get there. She saw how technology could build an efficient healthcare logistics system, and out of this resolve, LifeBank was born.
Founded in 2015, LifeBank uses technology to track and deliver critical medical supplies to hospitals within hours. Their reach cuts across bustling cities and down to the farthest rural clinics to ensure that lifesaving resources reach those needing them most. Their mission is to prevent the tragic loss of lives that could have been saved with timely medical interventions.
Early Life and Inspiration
Giwa-Tubosun was born into a modest family. She was raised with the understanding that not everyone had the luxury of reliable medical care. In 2001, she left Nigeria for the United States, where she later studied at Minnesota State University Moorhead and graduated in 2007. She also attended graduate school at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey and graduated in July 2010.
Giwa-Tubosun has had unpleasant personal experiences with the Nigerian healthcare system. The peak of it was when she witnessed the death of a young mother at childbirth, simply because there wasn’t enough blood available to save her life. This tragedy haunted her and was one of the things that inspired her to do something to heal the wounds left by a broken healthcare system.
Years later, Temie Giwa-Tubosun founded LifeBank to ensure that no woman, no child, and no person would have to die for lack of something as simple and as essential as blood.
Giwa-Tubosun’s LifeBank innovates blood distribution in Africa
LifeBank uses an innovative platform to connect blood banks and hospitals in real time. They use blockchain-powered records, drone technology, contactless distribution, biomedical engineering talent, and other improved technological innovations to enhance the quality of healthcare hospitals can offer patients.
Through a few clicks on the LifeBank platform, hospitals can instantly check for available blood supplies and place urgent orders. An intricate system then works behind the scenes to track deliveries using data and geolocation. LifeBank’s dispatch riders then use GPS tracking to transport these supplies safely across cities without wasting time.
She didn’t stop at blood. Soon, LifeBank expanded its offerings to medical oxygen distribution. This resource became even more helpful at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the world was trying to manage the shortage of essential medical resources, LifeBank helped deliver oxygen to hospitals, saving countless lives.
Giwa-Tubosun impacts and achievements
Since its inception in 2015, LifeBank has expanded its reach across Nigeria, delivering life-saving products to hospitals in 13 African cities, with plans to scale even further. The company has delivered over 2,000 imperial pints (1,100 L) of blood to needy patients across the country as of January 2017. As of 2016, they had delivered an average of 300 imperial pints (170 L) of blood a month to more than 170 hospitals across Lagos state. They also collaborate with the state government’s blood transfusion services to organise blood drives that would help increase the blood supply across the state.
Recognised globally for her groundbreaking work, Temie Giwa-Tubosun has earned several awards and accolades that have distinguished her as a leading figure in African healthcare innovation. Some of them include:
- The BBC 100 Women in 2014
- 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria for 2017 by YNaija 100
- Jack Ma’s Africa Netpreneur Prize, November 2019
- Global Citizen Prize for Business Leader, in 2020
- One of The “15 African Female Founders You Should Know In 2023″ by African Folder.
What began as a response to Nigeria’s ailing healthcare system has blossomed into a life-saving network stretching across borders.
