A red-letter day: volunteers give blood, motivate others to do so

A group of voluntary blood donors in Davangere town have come together to contribute their bit in the fight against Covid-19.

They have not just donated blood themselves, they have also encouraged several others to do so.

As many as 220 donors have so far donated blood, responding to the call given by Life Line Blood Bank, of Karnataka Haemophilia Society (KHS), Davangere.

Soon after the lockdown, the blood bank took to social media platforms, requesting people to donate blood to save lives.

KHS launched the campaign ‘Life Line’ to encourage voluntary blood donation about 20 years ago. The campaign ended in commissioning of the blood bank.

According to Dr M M Daddikoppad, the blood bank officer, they anticipated shortage of blood as India began reporting Covid-19 cases. Availability of blood has come down by 40% after the lockdown was enforced.

“We wanted to handle any situation arising out of blood donation camps not being organised. We contacted our donors and made a request on social media platforms,” Daddikoppad told DH.

The blood bank has been able to collect over 210 units of blood in the last one month.

“We knew availability of blood would be a problem. I wanted to do something in the wake of Covid-19 and voluntarily donated blood,” Lohit S Hatti, a donor, told DH.

About 50 people donated blood for the first time in their lives.

Based on the need and request, the blood bank provided blood to nursing homes, hospitals and the district hospital.

“The blood was given free to patients suffering from haemophilia and thalassaemia. It was also used to treat other bleeding disorders,” Dr Suresh Hanagawadi, president, KHS, said.

According to some donors, they did face hurdles on the way to the blood bank. However, the health officials and the police, on learning about the noble cause, granted permission to go to the blood bank.

“We take utmost precaution as per the guidelines before collecting blood. We complete the required procedures before the blood collection,” Daddikoppad said.