Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav: 96-Year-Old Man Among Blood Donors In Record Drive

New Delhi: A record number of people donated blood on Saturday in the countrywide mega voluntary blood donation drive, Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav.

Till 7.40 pm, 87,137 people voluntarily donated blood.

According to the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, it’s a world record, surpassing the previous high figure of 87,059 blood donors in a day, in 2014.

Union Health & Family Welfare Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya kicked off the campaign by donating blood at a camp in Safdarjung Hospital in the national Capital.

Among the donors was an enthusiastic  96-year-old man in Mumbai, who was allowed to donate two drops of blood by the medical team.

“A single drop of blood can make a huge difference. 96 years old Takhatmal Kothari Ji passionately insisted on donating blood under #RaktdaanAmritMahotsav in Mumbai. After a lot of discussions, the medical staff allowed him to donate two drops of blood by pricking his finger,” tweeted Mandaviya.

In another step towards ensuring health for all, President Droupadi Murmu on September 9 launched ‘Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan’ to eliminate TB by 2025.

The treatment is available free of cost at government health facilities.

Around 13.5 lakh TB patients have registered on the Nikshay portal.