THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Twenty destinations, 20 days, 10,000 kilometres. And a mammoth effort to reach out to people and create awareness about one of the major social issues grappling society- the dearth of blood donors. 

It was a ride to reach out to as many people regarding the need to attain self-sufficiency in blood donation. The ride saw Sajna Ali and Tuna Bastin meeting students, general public and the stakeholders in the field of blood donation and spreading awareness on the need to attain self-sufficiency in voluntary blood donation by 2020. 

The two women embarked on a ride on their scooter, travelling to colleges and organisations across the country, and also interacted among the public on the significance of donating blood. The duo started their journey from the capital traversing as many as 17 states and two union territories. 

The ride was organised jointly by the Terumo Penpol, All Kerala Blood Donors Society, Tejus Blood Donation Forum and the Federation of Indian Blood Donors Organisations.

“The ride gave us many surprises. In the north, there were places which had camps getting donors in large numbers with 800 units of blood being donated at a single camp. We also came across people in rural areas who did not even have any idea about blood donation,” says Sajna, one of the campaigners. 

“I also intend to revisit the areas where I found blood camps functioning with good success rates. I want to undertake personal visits, study how they get so many donations and learn about those who come forward to donate as well,” she says. 

The team journeyed to places such as Madurai, Chennai, Kolkatta, Visakhapatanam, Ranchi, Delhi, Punjab, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Goa, Bengaluru and Kochi, among others to spread the message.
The need for blood in the city is huge, says Tuna Bastin, the other campaigner. 

“In the Regional Cancer Centre alone, they require 150 to 300 units of blood on a daily basis. When there is a delay to meet this rising blood requirement, the treatment also gets delayed. If each one of us starts donating blood voluntarily, then the need can be met easily. It has to become a part of our lifestyle,” says Tuna.

“You can’t make blood. So it further emphasises the need to ensure we make it a part of our lifestyle to donate blood every three months.”