Bengaluru: Bengaluru's Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) office has been temporarily changed into a blood donation camp. The blood collected would be donated to the treatment of children who are undergoing chemotherapy. This initiative was taken up jointly by an NGO called Sustainable Environment Development Trust (SEDT), Lions Blood bank, and Bengaluru Police, west division.
The donated blood would be used at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology Cancer Research. 75 police personnel participated in the blood donation camp, including the DCP himself. The police department’s initiative has collected over 10,000 units of blood, Prasanna said.
"Young children who are receiving chemotherapy experience extreme pain, and they will have to be given platelets,” said Prakruthi Prasanna, the president of SEDT. Because of the pandemic situation, they found out that the donors were scared to donate blood due to the huge spread of Covid-19. “More than 90% of donors are reluctant to donate blood out of some fear due to the pandemic. The other issue is that they worry about the infection in the camp itself,” Prasanna added.
“When we were visiting hospitals during the second wave for various reasons, we found out that due to fear of COVID-19, patients who needed blood were suffering. People were not forthcoming to donate blood as there was a worry that they might contract COVID-19 in places like labs and these camps,” DCP said. “When the second wave was over, we were approached by SEDT, and we conducted this camp. We wish to conduct another camp in the future also. A single unit of blood could be used to save three lives. So, we want to drive home this fact that blood donation is very important through the initiative,” he added.
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