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It was just an usual day for engineers like us.

She's been there with me when I have been lonely. On the long dark nights when I could not sleep. She was there when I felt bent and broken. She was there to sooth me, comfort me, caress me and give me peace. She has been there when I face challanges. She shows me the way. she gives me the strength to walk the right road, to take the challange, head on.. She's been there to tell me tales - of the beauty of my nation and it's people.

Time and again, a blood donor has a question coming back to hsi/her mind. What happens to the blood I donate?. Is it used in the right manner?. Are things safe, is this blood bank a good one? Who rates them? How do i know that they follow the right practices?

In days where rallies and demonstrations are more directed towards the unending list of political and financial controversies gripping the nation, one news that catches the eye is something that goes like this "4000 students take part in rally to promote blood donation".

It's been close to 4 years now from the time Sankalp India Foundation started organising blood donation drives. Ever since, the most important aspect that has been always the trademark of any Sankalp blood donation drive is the quality factor. Right from the event publicity to the complete handling of the blood donation drive Sankalp has been striving to get better and improve processes and thereby improve quality.

A Sankalp volunteer named Anil had this to say on the 7th Anniversary of the organisation in May 2010. For Anil this was his first year at Sankalp.

Wo khoon kaho kis matlab ka, jisme ubaal ka naam nahi,

Wo khoon kaho kis matlab ka, aa sake Desh ke kaam nahi.

Wo khoon kaho kis matlab ka, jisme jeevan na ravani hai.

Jo parvash hokar behta hai, wo khoon nahi hai paani hai.

Us din logon ne sahi-sahi, khoon ki keemat pehchani thi.

Jis din Subhash ne Burma me, maangi unse qurbani thi.

Bole swatantra ki khatir, balidaan tumhe karna hoga,

Tum bahut jee chuke ho jag me, lekin aage marna hoga.

Another December passed and we entered into yet another new year. This year bought with it a new and much anticipated decade. The decade, most of us were looking forward to. For it is at the end of this very decade that Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam had dreamt of India as a developed country. The question is whether we Indians have the potential to realize his dream?

I lived my life all these years believing that preserving blood for years together is not possible. Or at least the cost is so high that it can never be done. I was living in ignorance. The truth is out and here it is - 'Red Blood Cells can be stored for tens of years together'.