Donating blood to save lives

By taking part in a noble cause like blood donation, an individual not only saves someone else’s life but also improves his or her health as well. It is a life-saving gift from one man to another irrespective of the religion, nationality or any other social factor.Qatar has a heterogeneous population with people coming together from different backgrounds and it won’t be erroneous to say that blood donation is indeed one way of reaching out and helping each other. Fun Day Club is a community group formed by expatriates from India. The club organises different community meet-ups, cultural and art programmes, and welfare activities. The club, in collaboration with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), is all set to organise a blood donation campaign ‘Be Proud Of Yourself’ today. The donation drive will take place at HMC’s Blood Donor Unit from 8am to 12pm.Talking to Community, Subramanya Hebbagelu, Patron of Fun-Day Club, said, “I am not a medical expert but I know and understand the importance of blood donation. Every three seconds, somebody is in need of blood in the world. One donation can help save three lives. There are no boundaries like race, religion, sex, or nationality for the blood donation. It improves heart and liver health and reduces heart attack risk by 88% It also lowers down the risk of stoke by 32%. It also helps in burning calories as one pint of blood (450ml) burns 650 calories. The donation also enhances new blood cell production. It reduces cancer risk. A donor can also have free blood screening.”Sharing how he became a volunteer for the blood donation drives, he said, “I experienced two incidents in my life that made me realise that how important blood donation is. A few years ago in India, a friend of mine met an accident. One of his legs was amputated due to excessive bleeding and absence of timely availability of blood. Had we been able to arrange two A+ blood donors in time, my friend could have avoided the wheel chair for rest of his life.“The second incident was also in India. At my workplace, one of my colleagues suddenly collapsed and went unconscious during the office hours. Doctors diagnosed him with a cardiac arrest and suggested an immediate by-pass surgery. The doctors asked us to arrange B+ve blood. This time, our own colleagues including me donated and that timely help saved our friend’s life.”He added, “I moved to Qatar some 11 years ago. I started taking part in different campaigns for blood donation in 2009. Then we formed this club to continuously carry out the drives. I do it because for me this is a very noble health charity. You do not know who the recipient is going to be. It is also our duty to contribute to Qatar in a positive way as it is our second home.”Ajay Kumar, President of Fun Day Club, said, “Our club has actively been participating in blood donation activities for the last five years in collaboration with different community organisations. We mobilise our community through social media and we always have very positive response. For today’s campaign, we have already got registration from 400 people. “All the community people are requested to join hands with us in this noble cause and actively come forward to donate blood. We always provide food and juices to all the volunteers after the donation. We also give them certificates in recognition of their contribution to the humanity. The HMC also provides certificates to the volunteers.”He futher said, “Under the health regulations, a donor needs to be in Qatar for six month before he can donate the blood. People who have been staying for six or more than six months are eligible for the donation. I wanted to go to India but postponed my trip because I wanted to donate blood.”Those who wish to donate blood (Qatar Only) at HMC Donors Unit Qatar today can register their names by joining the Whatsapp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/B6IoU8Wym0U5Kwn6S8PpP6