Sankalp India Foundation has been strategically planning the blood donation drives to meet the critical hour of blood shortages both in the summer and winter months, instead of clustering the blood donation camps on the days of national importance or when the city has enough stocks. The winters of this year, has also been very challenging, specially the last week of Dec and the first week of Jan'2019.
While the city was busy celebrating festivals and the colleges were busy with exams and winter vacation, the need for for blood did not come down. Each and every day, individuals across the city of Bengaluru, depend on blood donations for lifesaving treatments and emergency crae. Hence, it is critical that regular Voluntary donors donate blood to meet these needs.
52 blood donation drives have been organized between Nov-Jan, collecting 2745 units of blood. Drives were planned on every Sunday in the month of Dec 2018 and the first week of Jan'2019. The Blood Donation Drives have been distributed among 10 Blood Banks in Bengaluru to ensure proper distribution of blood in the city.
To mitigate this shortage, potential donors need to be educated about both the need and potential solutions. The supply of blood is like a cell phone battery, it constantly needs recharging. There is no substitute for human blood: the supply depends entirely on generous donations. Corporate Bodies, Voluntary groups and public associations have been sensitized about the need during this critical hour and they have been very supportive in their gesture of organizing Voluntary Blood Donation Drives.
To meet the fragile balance between blood supply and demand, Sankalp constantly search for more efficient ways to recruit blood donors. Efforts to achieve self-sufficiency and to render blood supplies safely and make it manageable, focus has been laid on recruiting and retaining more volunteer donors. The constant concern with being able to meet the demands for blood is because of the fact that only a small percentage of the eligible population actually chooses to donate blood on a regular basis. Sankalp has been successful in organizing awareness session at corporate and creating TeamRed Volunteers for public drives to carry the message of Voluntary Blood Donation forward.
Stand up and be counted. "Make Blood Donation your Responsibility!!"