National Voluntary Blood Donation Day!!!

Hi....

Well, its been quite some time since I updated my blog. Had been busy with too many things of late, busy with exams, lost my wallet (sad story, shall update sometime later....), Ganeshotsav, and quite many other things!!! :)

Well, to mark my return to blogging after a short break, I would like to share some important information with you all :)

Today, the 1st of October, is the National Voluntary Blood Donation Day. As you all are pretty well aware, our country is in need of a lot of Blood, as the HUGE non-stop demand for blood & platelets from patients, is not being met by the short supply from donors & blood banks. There are umpteen instances of people running from pillar to post, to get Blood of a particular group, and further umpteen instances of patients dying due to non-availability of Blood.

On this special day, I would like to appeal to all of you, to become voluntary donors, and possibly even register yourself with local hospitals and the State Blood Transfusion Council, by which they can contact you in times of need. Remember, each time you donate a unit of blood, you are saving Three lives! Enjoy the pleasure that comes with this feeling of doing such a noble deed!

Apart from that, Mumbai is going to get its FIRST Platelets Bank! Platelets are a component of the whole blood. Platelet donation involves a different process, known as "Apheresis", wherein the whole blood is taken from the donor, sent into a machine which seperates the platelets from the whole blood, and returns the rest of the blood (minus the platelets) to the donor's body. Its a comparatively longer procedure, in comparison to whole blood donation, but is more necessary, as there are a large number of patients in dire need of Platelets, and the sad part is, there aren't as many Platelet Donors! Worse case is that, not many people are aware of such a process in the first place, most are aware only about the regular Whole Blood Donation.

For further details, you can check out the following links:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai/City_soon_to_get_platelet_donors_club/rssarticleshow/2415134.cms

http://www.mahasbtc.com/

http://www.bloodgivers.com/

http://www.bloodgivers.com/intfacts.asp

You can also search the internet, or consult other regular donors, or local hospitals, for further details. Good Luck :)

Remember, each unit donated, is Three lives Saved!!! :)