The fact that there is shortage of blood during summers is well established. Year after year scores of blood bankers complain about the lack of blood donation drives during the months of April-June. How can this trend be changed? Offering incentives to people if they donate blood? Maybe the very concept of offering an incentive is not wrong (some camp organizers give a pen or a keychain as a gift, maybe someone else could give a day off from work, we at Sankalp put a small sticker on the shirt of the donor that reads "Did something beautiful today - Donated Blood" or some nice message of that sort.), but should the incentive be free blood in return? So says a recommendation by the High Court to the Government of Gujarat.
A PIL was filed in the Gujarat High Court seeking directions for the regularization of blood donation activities and to make sure needy patients get proper blood in time of need. The PIL has also objected to the sale of the plasma extracted from blood collected through blood donation camps by blood banks. The bench of judges made an observation that the shortage of blood during summers was due to students being off their campuses due to examinations and vacations. It called on the government agencies to propagate information of this shortage in print and electronic media - Great!
But then came a hammer blow, the court also directed the authorities to give incentives to the donors, like offering them free-of-cost blood of equal quantity they donate when they require it. This is referred to as a hammer blow as it really kills the motive of voluntary non remunerated blood donation. It is a hammer blow to the principles and ideals with which Sankalp's Rakta Kranti wing was born. Read on to now how ...
Here is an anecdote of a recent experience Sankalp faced in one educational institution. Located in one of the major medical hubs of Karnataka, this college never conducted blood donation drives despite having more than 500 students. The college then came in the radar of Sankalp Rakta Kranti team, and the ball was set rolling: A first blood donation drive was held in 2012 with close to 100 units of blood being collected by a prestigious blood bank of that region. Not just that, the college promised regular blood donation drives with Sankalp. All was well.
However, during the drive one important process was followed. Despite multiple recommendations by Sankalp to avoid this, the blood bank gave every donor a "replacement card". A card that confirmed that free-of-cost blood of equal quantity will be given to donors on producing the card. Both the blood bank and the institution were mutually ready and happy to have this setup. Little did we at Sankalp know the tragedy that was about to strike.
A few days later, there was a blood requirement for one of the students of that institution. It was a rare group request. Scores of students came up to support - not to donate, but to use the power of their replacement card. They demanded free blood. Forget giving it for free, the blood bank claimed that they did not have the unit on the shelf. What followed was mayhem with authorities of the institution and blood bank making frantic calls to each other. Luckily, the patient survived with blood being made available just in time - a mystery unit popped out of the refrigerator of the blood bank!. All this while Sankalp was unaware.
In 2013, when Sankalp Rakta Kranti went back to the college to schedule the next blood donation drive, they faced the wrath of the institution. Questions and limitless discussions related to the incident have not only left both the institution and Sankalp tired, the possibility of a blood donation drive in that place looks bleak - forever. In hindsight, maybe we at Sankalp could have done better to block that dreaded card with a fake promise. But then someone mentioned that it is not illegal to give the card, the policy makers have never explicitly stated not to make such a promise. And now, as if to add an icing on the cake, we have an important legislative unit promoting this.
When there is an expectation in the mind of the donor, will it be ever termed as a "donation"?.
Original story @: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/encourage-young-generation-to-donate-blood-hc-tells-govt/1111389/