Samsung Electronics, in partnership with global healthcare company Abbott, has unveiled an innovative application of its Galaxy XR headset — transforming the blood donation experience through immersive extended reality technology.
The initiative, launched in recognition of World Blood Donor Day on June 14, marks the first XR-powered blood donation campaign in Korea. The inaugural event took place on June 2 at Samsung Digital City in Suwon, where Samsung employees experienced immersive meditation content while donating blood, with Korean Red Cross personnel on-site throughout.
A Calming Virtual Garden
The experience begins the moment a donor puts on the Galaxy XR headset. They are transported into a tranquil, Zen garden-inspired virtual environment. The interaction is designed to be effortless — using only gaze-based controls, with no controllers or hand gestures required. Donors simply look at virtual flower seeds to plant them, and over the course of three to five minutes, flowers and trees bloom around them as calming music — created in collaboration with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra — plays in the background.
"As the boundary between the physical and digital worlds continues to blur, blood donation no longer has to be a stressful experience," said James Pak, Vice President of the Global Mobile B2B Team at Samsung Electronics. "Through this initiative, we hope to demonstrate how Galaxy XR can extend beyond entertainment and productivity to create lasting social value."
Healthcare-Ready XR
Miguel Carrazza of the Transfusion Medicine division at Abbott highlighted the practical advantages of the technology in medical settings. "Samsung Galaxy XR, powered by Android XR, represents a significant advancement for our mixed reality blood donation program," Carrazza said. "It is well-suited for healthcare settings, allowing medical staff to monitor donors more easily while helping them stay naturally engaged."
The feedback from donors has been positive. Geunwoo Park of Samsung Networks Business, who participated in the campaign, said, "I try to donate blood at least once a year, but it can feel a little boring since you have to sit still. Using Galaxy XR made it more enjoyable because there was something engaging to watch."
Gangsu Kim of the Visual Display Business, making his 20th blood donation, added, "I found the interactive content especially fascinating because it responded to where I was looking."
Global Expansion Plans
The initiative is set to scale globally. Samsung and Abbott will host a four-day blood drive at the Augmented World Expo (AWE) in Long Beach, California, from June 15 to 18, bringing the Galaxy XR donation experience to thousands of attendees from the XR ecosystem. Later in June, the program will be showcased at the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where more than 100 blood bank decision-makers from around the world will experience the technology firsthand.
Since 2016, Abbott and Red Cross organizations have conducted blood donation campaigns in nearly 30 countries. The addition of Samsung Galaxy XR technology aims to make the donation process more comfortable and engaging, potentially encouraging more people to become regular donors.
Through these engagements, Samsung and Abbott are working to expand access to XR-powered donation experiences for donors, healthcare professionals, and blood bank organizations worldwide — demonstrating how consumer technology can be meaningfully applied to address real-world healthcare challenges.
Image Source: Samsung Newsroom
