Hospitals Receive Respirators from Bitcoiners to Face Coronavirus

Bitcoiner Bruce Fenton volunteers by producing ventilators for Covid-19 patients. The Giving Block receives donations in cryptocurrencies to fight the spread of the virus.

Mechanical ventilators or respirators are pieces of equipment that can save the lives of patients with coronavirus pneumonia. This reality has motivated organizations and individuals to produce such devices on a low budget, an initiative in which bitcoiners and cryptocurrency companies also collaborate.

Displays of empathy and altruism in the community have emerged in recent weeks when the coronavirus began to wreak havoc in Europe and raised alarm in the USA. One of the leading supporters of this movement has been Bruce Fenton, renowned bitcoiner and CEO of Chainstone Labs.

Fenton has been a prominent volunteer in the non-profit organization End Coronavirus, a project that seeks to inform about the pandemic and find solutions to the disease. Under the auspices of the New England Complex System Institute and scientist Yaneer Bar-Yam, the organization plans to make cheap mechanical ventilators that are easy to produce in large numbers.

The idea behind ​​the project is to equip hospital emergency rooms with enough breathing machines to treat the numerous cases of coronavirus. In this way, doctors would not have to face the difficult decision about which patients should live and which should die. Due to the lack of respirators and the increase in cases, doctors are forced to impose this policy in Italy, where they privilege young people are over the elderly.

Fenton noted that it is necessary to produce these respirators as soon as possible and legally to save the most lives. He also noted that the organization is seeking manufacturers that can mass produce these devices as a donation.

End Coronavirus would also require voluntary doctors and engineers to test the equipment, lawyers to guide them on how to legally introduce these implements, and writers to disseminate this information. Similarly, the design of mechanical ventilators is public information so that other organizations or individuals contribute to producing this equipment.

A Historical Moment

Bruce Fenton considers that the fight against the coronavirus is a great test for humanity, which requires that everyone play a part to save people’s lives. He stated that the coronavirus is a break in society and life as everyone knows them, a reason why some say that earth will have to rebuild earth.

Nobody knows what havoc the coronavirus pandemic will cause to the world, but the truth is that the tragedy has mobilized people to cooperate for the good of all. For example, bitcoiner Hector Rosekranz also joined End Coronavirus to provide information on how to develop cheaper ventilators. Besides, investor Balaji S. Srinivasan informs the community about all the details of the pandemic, following its progress and setbacks.

In addition to these cryptocurrency-related projects, there are other particular initiatives to manufacture mechanical respirators or ventilators with 3D printers. For instance, entrepreneurs Colin Keogh and Gui Calavanti have created a prototype of these devices, which can be produced for hospitals in Ireland in a few hours. On the other hand, another non-profit team, called ReesistenciaTeam, is developing low-budget ventilators.

By Willmen Blanco