A massive blood drive in the four Rotary Districts in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry - in association with the government - and joined by two Rotary Districts in the neighboring state of Kerala has collected an estimated 50,000 units of blood, according to Blood Donor Chair Dr. R. Sriram of District 3230. In several places, the drive was spearheaded by awareness rallies – including Rotaractors on motor bikes.
Rotary District 3230 organized the blood drive in association with the government of Tamil Nadu and "gave leadership" to the three other districts in Tamil Nadu and the two participating districts in neighboring Kerala.
In Tamil Nadu and the union territory, the districts are numbered 3230, 2980 , 3000 , and 3212 . They were joined by district 3201 and
In Tamil Nadu, the event was flagged off by the state's Governor, Smurfit Singh Barn, with the presence of government ministers , Rotary District Governor G. Olivannan of 3230 and other Rotary officials. Total blood collected in Tamil Nadu reached 45,000 units.
Under the slogan "Be Positive", this year's blood drive was especially directed towards young people. In Chennai, the state capital of Tamil Nadu (District 3230), Rotaractors conducted a motor cycle procession one week before the blood drive to spread awareness, and also marched on main streets in the city, carrying placards, giving details of the massive blood collection drive, which took place on September 23.
District 3230 alone collected 5250 units of blood. This "is my district", Past District Governor P T Prabakaran proudly says. He is one of the founders and current chairman of the Rotary Central TTK VHS Blood Bank in Chennai, one of more than 50 Rotary related blood banks across
In addition to hospitals and blood banks, many of the blood camps were held at university campi. "This creates the peer pressure among students", the chairman for the district's Blood and Organ Donation, R. Sriram , told the news paper The Hindu. An estimated 15,000 students donated blood from across various parts of the State, Express News Service reported.
Speaking at the event in Chennai, District Governor Nominee V. Raja Seenivasan said many people stay away from donating blood simply because of lack of awareness and the need for voluntary blood donors.
Labour Minister T.M. Anbarasan told the gathering in Chennai that Tamil Nadu has a total of 258 blood banks, out of which 83 are run by the State government, 14 by the Central government in
The four Rotary Districts in Tamil Nadu:
3230 106 clubs 4240 members
2980 124 clubs 4974 members
3000 78 clubs 3106 members
3212 72 clubs 3032 members
The two participating districts in Kerala:
3201 105 clubs 3821 members
3202 95 clubs 3477 members
(Source: RI Directory 2010-2011, based on January 1, 2010 data)
Footnotes:
1) Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of
2) GNBD President P T Prabakaran can be contacted at the
3) Please go to the Photo journals to see pictures from the blood drive.