Berhampur: When India requires 14 million to 15 million units of blood per year, only 15% of it has been achieved, said Apurba Ghosh secretary general of Federation of Blood Donors Organisation of India (FBDOI).
Launching its national blood donation campaign, ‘Har Ghar Raktadata’, in Odisha at Sankalp Senior Secondary School in Berhampur city on Tuesday, he said blood should be available to the patients totally free.
Stating that there is an urgent need for streamlining the entire system of blood donation, he said FBDOI is spearheading the movement to achieve it.
Apurba, who has donated blood 113 times since he was 20 years of age, has represented India in various platforms in 26 countries. He is regarded as the best motivator for blood donation in India having 49 years of experience.
“Har Ghar Raktadata is an all-India mission that started on October 1 and would run for one year in all the states and Union territories phase wise,” said 70-year-old Apurba.
“We have targeted the people in the age group of 18-60 years for this mission and are seeking the help of the elders of each household to motivate the youngsters. The members of the Association of Voluntary Blood Donors (AVBD) of Odisha would visit every house, school and college to sensitise the students, parents and elderly persons about blood donation,” he added.
According to a recent survey, 80% of families depend upon medicines for their survival in India. Around 30% of families have patients suffering from HIV, cancer, thyroid and hepatitis-B who cannot donate blood. “Only 67% population in Odisha are eligible for blood donation and we have to encash it during the ‘Har Ghar Raktadata’ campaign,” said Apurba.
The situation has further deteriorated after the COVID pandemic, he said adding that the governments must come forward with a helping hand to support the voluntary blood donors’ organisations.
According to the latest figure, there are more than 3800 blood banks in India. Out of those, 1162 are run by the governments or public sector entities like India Railways who are not making money out of blood. But the remaining blood banks run by the private sector are exploiting the patients and charging exorbitant prices for the blood, he said.
Apurba thanked Jayadeb Rout of Odisha who has set out on a bicycle expedition to several states to sensitise the people about blood donation and ‘Har Ghar Raktadata’ mission. Jayadeb has already covered West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and reached Himachal Pradesh.
ET Rao, founder president of AVDB, J Suresh, founder secretary, Ramakanta Rath, president and Sushant Ghosh , secretary were present.
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