Shaping of the Blood Mobile

Our search for that formula took us to the blood mobile. A modern blood collection van which has can conduct a blood donation drive anywhere and at anytime. This concept is not new. People are using it elsewhere in India and abroad. We have been exploring the possibility of buying a Blood Mobile for the city of Bangalore.

While we are building up a strong proposal, trying to back everything that we pen down with concrete evidence and background, we found a severe need to physically see and get introduced to the working of the blood mobile. And this took us on a day trip to Chennai.

Chennai has not 1 but 2 blood mobiles. The two proud blood banks who own them are Lions and the Jeevan. The chosen date was 2nd September 2007. We reached Chennai very early in the morning. The appointment with Dr Mohan Das of the Lions Blood Bank and Research Foundation was at 8:00 AM. We wanted to be there an hour earlier so that we could see "Cattiva", the modern blood mobile before it left for a camp.

Cattiva is the state of the art blood mobile equipped with anything that is required to hold a very good blood donation drive. This vehicle is functionally superior and very eye catching. Once you see it for yourself, you will never doubt it's ability to pull donors.

Talk with Dr Mohandas was very informative and good. As always, we got a lot to learn. We were particularly amazed to see the IT infrastructure that they have put in place. The enthusiasm and the dedication of the people there was a good thing to see.

In the middle of the disaster struck Kashmir, we did not forget to find some minutes to gaze at the high Himalayas and adore them. How could we miss the opportunity this time? After meeting at Lions we immediately left for Marina to see the mighty Bay of Bengal. Last time we saw it, it had engulfed a 100000 lives (after Tsunami). It looked ferocious then. But this time it was a different scene. Standing on the tip of Our motherland and overlooking the ocean.. It had some relation with the mission we have.. An endless dream..

Next destination was Jeevan Blood Bank. Ms Sheela of the Donor Support team welcomed us. Jeevan is yet another good blood bank that has been setting standards in blood banking. The Jeevan Blood mobile is considerably smaller and therefore more maneuverable. It was fabricated in Bangalore itself and is highly cost effective.

By the end of the day we had a lot of new information at hand. This included the knowledge of 1090, the blood helpline for Chennai. When we reached back to Bangalore, we knew that the journey was not over. This was just one step in the direction. The direction that will take us to the blood mobile.

The day it hits roads in Bangalore.. it will.. in poetic terms.. rain..