When Rotarians in the Indian capital of New Delhi, District 3010, a few years ago founded a Rotary Blood Bank, they had a goal: No one shall suffer in Delhi for want of blood. In general, India is facing acute scarcity of safe, quality blood, and thereis a lack of awareness.A local Club President will now add the World Blood Donor Day, June 14, to the club's already busy blood camp calendar to call on the public to volunteer as blood donors.At a blood drive in May at a business school, the students became voluntary blood donors.
President Kamal R. Bhambhani of Rotary Club New Delhi, District 3010, has announced plans to celebrate the World Blood Donor Day, June 14 2008, as part of the club's efforts to help out at the Rotary Blood Bank in the Indian capital.
The club will add the event to an already busy blood camp calendar, responding to a call by Global Network for Blood Donation, A Rotarian Action Group - which is encouraging Rotary Clubs and Districts around the globe to join the World Blood Donor Day as part of their community service.
On May 14-15 a camp was held at the Sapient Corporation, an IT firm. This was 18th blood donation camp this Rotary Year held by Rotary Club of New Delhi. 106 voluntary blood donors helped out.
On May 8, the club organized a blood camp at the Banglore Business School, B-2/61, MCIE, Mathura Road, Badarpur, Delhi. "We motivated students at the business school to work for the community blood drive. Students voluntarily donated blood at this camp," Kamal Bhambhani reports.
On March 21, Good Friday, at the catholic St. Mary's Church at Sector 34 Noida, many catholics turned up for the prayers and later on donated blood. "We were very succesful in collecting 144 units of voluntary blood donations that day," Kamal R. Bhambhani tells www.ourblooddrive.org.
Kamal R. Bhambhani has been the driving force behind numerous blood camps(*), organized by the club.
"In support of the community blood drive, the club will continue organizing blood camps during the very crucial summer months which face an acute scarcity of blood," the president says.
At the Rotary Blood Bank, the donor blood it tested and given away at a reasonable processing fee of 10 to 25 dollar to needy.
In his installation address to the club for the Rotary Year 2007-2008, Kamal R. Bhambhani promised "to hold many blood camps during the year". Furthermore, the club has affiliated itself with an international company in India for blood camps at the company's offices around India every six months.
The Rotary Blood Bank in New Delhi was ignaugurated in March 2002 and is one of several Rotary sponsored blood banks in India. It was founded by Rotary Clubs in District 3010 with the financial support of Rotary Foundation, federal and state governments, public sector corporations and individual Rotarians. Writing in the Visitors Book at the blood bank's website in December 2005, RI President Carl Wilhelm Stenhammar called the Delhi Rotary Blood Bank for "A super example on how cooporation can work over time."
The major contribution of the blood supply to the Rotary Blood Bank stems from the blood camps organized by various Rotary Clubs in District 3010. The October 2007 figures showed, for instance, that the clubs secured 4,018 units of blood that month, according to Manoj Lamba, District Chairman, Rotary Blood Bank Committee.
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The October tally showed: Rotary Club of Delhi City collected 567 units of blood, Rotary Club of Ghaziabad Central followed with 555 units and Rotary Club of Sahibabad with 411 units of blood. The clubs collecting more than 100 units of blood were: Rotary Clubs of Ghaziabad North, Delhi Rendezvous, Ghaziabad Greater, Delhi Ashoka, Greater Noida, Delhi Downtown, Sonepat and Inner Wheel Club of Delhi. (Source: Governor's Monthly Letter, December 2007).
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In an article about "Rotary Blood Banks in India" and published by the magazine Rotary News, October 2007, RI Director Ashok Mahajan points out, that the "Rotary Blood Bank in Delhi can be said to be the finest in the country amongst all private and public sector blood banks".
Ashok Mahajan is part of Rotarian efforts in India to establish a network of Rotarian based blood banks, including new blood bank projects, around the country.
The promise of No one shall suffer in Delhi for want of blood - as stated on the opening page for the website of Rotary Blood Bank - is a goal, not an expression of the actual situation in the Indian capital or the country: "India is facing acute scarcity of safe, quality blood. Infrastructure is grossly underdeveloped, and there is a lack of awareness", says Club President Kamal R. Bhambhani.
So the words of former RI President Frank Devlyn, writing in the Visitors Book at the website of Rotary Blood Bank Delhi, February 2003, still address the overall situation: "Continue your good work by creating awareness."
Rotary Club of New Delhi was chartered in June 2005. Since its second year of existence, the club has become a "100 percent PHF club". In 2006-07 it was honoured with "The Best Club Award" in District 3010.
The New Delhi District 3010 was established in 1984 with 39 Rotary Clubs. At present, the district has 108 clubs with more than 4,200 members. D-3010 includes the National Capital Territory of New Delhi and the revenue districts of Faridabad, Haryana, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar.
According to its website, major projects in District 3010 of India include:
- The Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital
- R.I. District Rotary Education Foundation
- District 3010 Rotary Eco
- Rotary Blood Bank
- Rotary Literacy Foundation.
Editor's footnote:President Kamal R. Bhambhani of Rotary Club New Delhi can be reached by e-mail at bhambhani.kamal@gmail.com.
(*)The terms 'blood camp', 'blood drive', 'blood campaign' all refer to the same professional activity - an organized collection of blood outside the main facility. In India the term 'camp' is pretty widely used, where a 'drive' is more commonly used in Africa, Australia and the US/Canada. Campaign has several meanings - both a collection event as well as a promotion event focused on motivation and recruitment. A common term is 'mobile team session' meaning a collection session in the field reached and performed by a mobile team that departs from the blood center and returns afterwards. (Source for Definition: GNBD member Cees Th. Smit Sibinga, Professor of International Development of Transfusion Medicine at the Faculty of Medical Sciences (IDTM) University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and Director of the Academic Institute for International Development of Transfusion Medicine).
Go to the journal PHOTOS (and click on Rotary Club of New Delhi) for pictures from the blood camps, and a photo of President Kamal R. Bhambhani together with other club officials.
Click here for links (1) (2) (3) to see pictures of the New Delhi Rotary Blood Bank.
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