The New College is celebrating a noble milestone this year. The institution completes two decades of its journey in encouraging students to donate blood. Recently, the YRC unit of the college organised its 83rd blood donation camp and donated 258 units to Royapettah Government Hospital blood bank and Red Cross Blood Bank.
In all these years, the students of the college have donated more than 12,000 units of blood to various government hospitals.
In 2004, the college initiated the first camp with 62 students from the college coming forward for the cause.
“It was our former principal, professor A Kadar Basha, who asked me to initiate this social project in the college,” says J. Sulaiman, who has been NSS programme officer for The New College for many years.
Doctors from Government Hospital in Royapettah and the Indian Red Cross were invited to explain to students the importance of blood donation. “I still remember how they were motivated when they heard that a unit of blood helps three to four patients,” says Sulaiman.
Students of NSS, YRC and Rotaract Club were the main donors but soon they started campaigning among classmates. As social media was not so prevalent back then, the management used to send our a circular ahead of every camp.
“During the initial years, we had a doctor from a private hospital come to college as many patients from other states struggled in getting blood,” says Sulaiman, who is now director for social service at the college. To build momentum, photographs of student donors were pasted on the notice board as a mark of appreciation.
From two camps a year, they have increased the frequency of the camps considerably. “Over the last five years, we have been conducting three to four camps a year which are usually held in July, October, December and February,” he says. More than 500 students register for every camp. “We have 30 departments in college now and there is greater awareness about such causes,” says Sulaiman adding that he has donated blood 24 times and has encouraged many colleagues at college to donate blood.
While mega camps are conducted at the college auditorium, students are sent to the hospitals based on requests for blood donation.
“Five hours of attendance is given to such students who volunteer,” says the faculty. He says “credit” is also given to donors.
