Blood. Red blood cells, White blood cells, Platelets. Basic terms everyone has heard of. ‘Blood is used to carry oxygen to different parts of the body’, 5th graders read off their textbook. And then there is Thalassemia, a disorder which does not allow the blood to perform its very basic function. Abnormal haemoglobin production causes the blood to carry less than the required amount of oxygen to different parts of the body.
Thalassemia is a disease with no cure, with painful procedures only successful in prolonging life. One of them is blood transfusion at regular intervals. Many young children wait desperately for compatible blood types for a transfusion.
To provide a solution to this, the Rotaract Club of SPIT continued its tradition of organising a blood donation camp in college.
Sankalp Blood Bank visited the college on the 24th of October with its team of doctors and made a passionate appeal to the students to donate blood. Many students were nervous and afraid of the needles, but upon hearing the plight of the thalassemic children, mustered up the courage to do what was necessary.
Rotaract provided each of the donors with refreshments and a certificate, while the able team of doctors made sure that the students donating were fit enough to do so. With more than 150 students donating their blood, it will go a long way in helping the affected children.
“It is heart-breaking to see that there are helpless people struggling with such an unfortunate disaster. This is the least we could from our side to help them”, said Vivek Nikam, one of the students who donated blood. With 138 pints of blood collected, more than 400 children will be able to get treatment for their condition. SPIT Rotaract member Vaidehi Deshpande was quoted saying “The camp was a great success. We feel proud of organising it and wish to carry forward this annual event each and every year with the same enthusiasm.”
Kudos to all the students who donated their blood!