Thanks to the widespread presence of blood donor groups, Kottayam has achieved the milestone of collecting over 90% of blood units through voluntary donation.
According to District Medical Officer Jacob Varghese, of the 15,901 units collected from the district during the 2018-19 period, 90.6% (14,416 units) was through voluntary donation. The State-level average of voluntary donation stands only at 74.5%.
Mr. Varghese attributed the rise in voluntary donation to the success of various awareness campaigns among the voluntary organisations, coupled with the functioning of about 20 blood banks in the district.
“If we maintain this momentum, the district is sure to take the proportion of voluntary blood donation to 100% very soon,” he said.
Blood Donor Day
Meanwhile, the district-level Blood Donor Day celebrations will be held at Pala on Friday.
Kottayam Subcollector Isha Priya will inaugurate the programme by donating blood.
Mar Jacob Muricken, Auxiliary Bishop of the Pala Diocese, will inaugurate the public meeting.
Shibu Thekkemuttam, convener of the Pala Blood Forum, who was recently selected as the best blood donor in the State, will donate blood for the 101th time during the event.
Blood Donor Day is observed across the world to raise awareness of safe blood and blood products and to thank blood donors for their life-saving gifts.
