The University of Kerala is set to launch a massive voluntary blood donation drive across its affiliated colleges.
Organised as part of the 150th Gandhi Jayanti celebrations, the endeavour will be undertaken in 110 colleges through the varsity’s National Service Scheme (NSS) cell.
The NSS units in the colleges have been mandated with organising two voluntary blood donation drives during the current fiscal. The programme will also mark the golden jubilee year of the NSS. According to NSS programme coordinator Shaji A., the camps will be arranged with the assistance of voluntary organisations including All Kerala Blood Donors Society and hospitals such as Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, medical colleges, and other government health institutions. Donor cards will be issued to donors.
Each camp is expected to collect a minimum of 50 units of blood. The drive is expected to go a long way in addressing the problem of shortage of blood required for medical exigencies. “Voluntary blood donors are considered the safest source of blood, as they have low prevalence of transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) as opposed to blood collected from family or replacement donors,” Dr. Shaji said.
