WhatsApp group of blood donors helping save lives
ALLAHABAD: A total of 125 blood donors in Allahabad are always ready help the needy on the beep of their mobile phones, thanks to a WhatsApp group ‘Youth for Blood Donation’.
The group members are not only saving lives but are also motivating others to join the mission by dispelling fear and misconceptions about blood donation.
The group was created two months ago by Rajiv Mishra, 33, a researcher at the Nehru Gram Bharti University, Allahabad. On an average, one new volunteer is added to the group every day and Rajiv aims at having 200 members by August 2017.
Rajiv’s zeal for the mission stems from a personal tragedy and the spirit of selflessness inculcated in him by his father, retired army captain Baleshwar Mishra. Rajiv, a resident of Trivenipuram in Jhunsi, has donated blood 39 times.
“I lost my elder brother Ashok in 2002, who was just 25 then. We could not arrange enough blood for an emergency operation after his appendix burst. I was 22 at that time. My brother’s death left me in shock. By the time I turned 25, I had read widely on the subject and knew the importance of blood donation and the shortage being faced in the country,” Rajiv, a post-graduate in medieval history from Allahabad University, said.
“I donated blood for the first time in 2005 and have been doing so till date,” he added.
“I decided to create a WhatsApp group when a friend of mine suddenly required blood for his sister’s operation in the middle of the night. Local blood banks did not have her blood group. The struggle we underwent that night made me step forward from an individual blood donor to one having friends who are ready to roll up their sleeves to donate blood even for strangers,” said Rajiv.
“A person can donate blood 3-4 times in a year. Blood donation is the biggest gift one can give the society. A unit of whole blood actually saves at least three lives once its primary components – red blood cells, plasma and platelets are separated,” he said. Rajiv now plans to add volunteers from other parts of the state to the WhatsApp group.
“We are getting requests from young donors from other cities. We plan to create a similar network in other cities as well,” said Gyan Prakash, 32, a high court lawyer and a member of the group who has made five donations till date.