The Saga Prefectural Red Cross Blood Center will introduce an e-mail system in January that will send messages to the mobile phones and personal computers of registered donors asking them to give blood in emergency situations.
According to officials involved in the project, it will be the first time in Japan that mobile phones will be used in blood drives.
"Cellular phones that are e-mail capable have been highly popular with youths, and (the new project) also aims to encourage more young people to donate blood," one center official said.
Up until now, the center has been telephoning registered blood donors to ask them for further donations. The emergencies often involve low supplies of thrombocytes, which can only be preserved for 72 hours after donation.
The use of e-mail would dramatically speed up the process of contacting donors and enable the center to reach out to a wider number of people.
Of the roughly 1,600 people the center has listed as donors, about 130 have already given their e-mail addresses.
The center is accepting registrations at its home page, www.bc9.org
It also aims to increase awareness of the new system and solicit new donors by distributing some 20,000 pamphlets at schools, offices and local municipal offices.