First Global Crowdfunding Website for Medical Treatments Opens to Public

Crowdfunding has exploded onto the scene in recent years, but Watsi.org is the first platform to apply its principles to the global health care space. By enabling people to directly fund medical treatments for individuals in developing countries, Watsi.org embodies a new generation of philanthropy, one where donors can have a direct personal connection with a beneficiary across the world.

During testing of Watsi.org this summer, 50 users from around the world donated $3,025 in increments as small as $5 to fund life-changing medical treatments for three initial patients from a village in Nepal where the average per capita income is less than $1 per day. During this test phase, donors funded treatments for a 12-year-old girl with a heart condition that made it difficult for her to breathe, a 14-year-old boy who lost the use of his hand after an epileptic seizure, and a 24-year-old widow whose face and body was disfigured in a fire.