At a time when the country is reeling under the second wave of the pandemic, the IAS Officers Association in Bihar on Monday organised a mega blood donation camp in association with the Indian Forest Service Officers Association and Maa Vaishno Devi Seva Samiti in Patna.
Nearly 150 units of blood was collected during the camp held at the IAS Bhawan in Patna to mark the World Blood Donor Day and raise awareness for thalassemia affected children in Bihar.
The event was supported by the State Health Society, the Department of Health and the State government while it was inaugurated by Tripurari Sharan, Chief Secretary. A.N Sharan, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Vivek Singh, president, IAS Officers’ Association, and Harjot Kaur, Secretary, IAS Officers Wives’ Association, were present.
“This is the first such big event of blood donation after the onset of COVID-19, through which our aim is to support the children who are affected by thalassemia. We understand that their suffering has increased due to dearth of availability of blood, as blood donations were not happening due to COVID19 pandemic”, said Dipak Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary, Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (DEFCC).
During the camp, the officers virtually interacted with three thalassemia-affected children, who are receiving special treatment at the prestigious CMC hospital, Vellore.