The most precious gift that one can give to another person is the gift of life i.e. blood. BMC’s unique initiative to save COVID-19 patients’ lives goes viral.
In an unusual incentive offered by a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) corporator from New Prabhadevi in a blood donation drive, people participating in the camp can take home either chicken or paneer, as a protein-rich diet has been increasingly advised to help boost immunity amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Samadhan Sarvankar, son of senior Shiv Sena leader Sada Sarvankar, is organising a blood donation camp on December 13 at the Rajabhau Salvi Ground in New Prabhadevi in partnership with the KEM hospital.
“Usually, blood donation camps are a serious affair, wherein a donor walks in donates blood, gets a certificate and leaves. We thought of organising a ‘fun’ blood donation camp, where we could not only encourage people to come forward and donate blood but also give them some cause for cheer, especially amid the pandemic when everybody is just worried, Samadhan Sarvankar said.
“The idea of distributing chicken and paneer struck me when I read on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) website that poultry and dairy products are a good source of protein and vitamins, besides being immunity boosters. Since its a pandemic era. So I decided to give all blood donors chicken or paneer as per whether they are vegetarian,” the corporator said.
Scarcity Of Blood
Blood banks in the city are facing severe shortages amid the pandemic. Maharashtra Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray responded to the crisis and had appealed to the citizens to donate blood voluntarily.
“The colleges which are an important source of blood collection are closed due to pandemic. There are also problems in blood collection due to work from home implemented by many big corporate houses, who used to collect it in large volumes before the pandemic,” Thackeray said.
Thalassemia patients are not getting their required transfusions and the changes on their decided cycle is severely affecting them. The city needs three lakh units of blood in a year, out of which almost one lakh units are donated by IT professionals, around 40 thousand each by college students and community-based organisations. The lockdown has made that impossible as colleges are closed and IT professionals are working from home. Also, railway stations are the biggest source to collect blood through camps, but Mumbai local train services have been restricted.
Time & Date Of Donation
The camp will be held between 10 am to 2 pm and potential donors will have to register before December 11. The aim is to collect 1,000 units of blood and so far, over 300 donors have registered. Donors must be between 18 and 50 years of age.