Let us see what April had in store for us at Sankalp.
Rakta Kranti
There were 10 blood donation camps organized by the team in the month of April. A total of 1061 units were collected in the events.
i) Al Ameen College:
We organized first camp in Al Ameen College on 2nd April. An awareness session before the camp helped in good publicity and motivation of students. 87 units were collected in the camp with 106 registrations. A heavy crowd was there throughout the camp. Ventilation was not ideal in this camp and it saw an increased rate of reactions, which were managed properly.
ii) Ascenders Club:
Bangalore Ascenders Trekking club organized a second camp with Sankalp at NIMHANS hospital blood bank. 16 people came forward to donate at the critical emergency time. The group wants to organize similar events every month.
iii) Sutherland Global:
First camp was organized in Sutherland Global on 7th April. This was one of the bad camps witnessed by Sankalp. Company was interested in good publicity and organized for a floor talk as well. However, being first such experience for company, they were not aware of any procedures and security clearances that need to be taken for a blood camp. This resulted in a long delay and a very long waiting time for Blood Bank and donors as well. Finally, once the camp started 10 units were collected in the camp.
iv) Delphi:
On 9th April, second camp was organized in Delphi. Very good support from company and well designed posters for publicity ensured a good donor flow and smooth running camp throughout the day. Blood donation videos were being played at all the common places. 140 people turned up for event with 108 donating blood.
v) Triveni Turbines:
Triveni Turbines, Peenya organized their first camp with Sankalp, though they are organizing regular camps since many years. It was a very good drive with 125 units collected in a span of 3 hours, distributed to 2 blood banks. Considering that their employee strength is just about 450, the donor turnout was about 28% in this camp, which is great! The camp was open for general public as well and several people from nearby localities and companies came forward for noble cause. Company volunteers were present throughout the camp and helped with registrations and crowd management. They also provided fruit bowls and juice to all the donors.
vi) EMC:
A three day drive was organized in EMC. Blood donation was a part of complete health camp and saw a very good response from all the employees. The camp proved to be a lifeline for North Karnataka as blood bank from Hubli was called for first 2 days. A total of 290 units were collected in three days. The turnout is less than last year but the camp had to be wind up early on the third day.
vii) Rambus:
Rambus organized a fourth camp with Sankalp on 16th April. As always, this time also all the companies in their building were part of this event and camp saw a very good donor turnout. Company co-operated very well throughout and provided fruits to donors. 159 people turned up with 120 of them donating blood and others deferred on medical or other grounds.
viii) APU:
Azim Premji University, PESIT campus organized a camp for the first time on 22nd April. An awareness session was done a day before where students were informed about Thalassemia. Camp day saw a huge donor turnout which was much better than expected. Out of a total strength of just about 250, close to half of the students and some faculty members came to donate. 94 units were collected in this well organized camp.
ix) KPIT:
KPIT organized a camp on 23rd April. There were a few security issues last time which were well taken care of this time around. Company was extremely supportive. This is one of the few organizations where a Team Red is still active. Team Red is a team of company volunteers trained by Sankalp in managing the camp. Floor talk was done post lunch and this helped getting a huge crowd. 167 people turned up. 123 donated blood which was distributed to 2 blood banks.
x) Infosys BPO:
A camp was organized in JP Nagar location of Infosys BPO on 25th April. This was a good camp in terms of donor motivation and turnout. However, the venue was small and could accommodate only 4 beds. As there was constant crowd and waiting donors throughout, we gave slots to donors for better crowd management. The camp stretched more than an hour after scheduled finish and 88 units were collected in the event.
Disha
April was a bust month for the State-wide Blood Help-line. Altogether, 653 blood requests were received in the month of April from a total of 23 districts across the state of Karnataka. Bangalore, Dharwad, Gulbarga, Mysore, Davangere, Raichur and Begaum contributed to most number of requests in the same order. 4 out of 10 requests were received for negative blood groups. At it's peak 46 blood requests were received in a single day which translates to about a 100 calls since many patients are not aware of the exact requirement details, component needed etc. in the first call. Including the calls made to update this stocks this contributed to about 160 calls in a single day. The automatic sending of SMS to the callers was a big success and helped make the sharing of contact numbers smooth and less prone to errors.
The real value of the blood help-line is seen on days when the blood banks in a particular region run out of stock and the patients have to run helter-skelter to find units. In such situations the number of calls to the help-line increases dramatically. However, since the help-line maintains a citywide picture of blood availability the patients are directed to the most likely place where they can find blood effectively.
Summers are here and the stage is set and the time has come to implement the plans.
Objective: Ensure no blood shortage throughout summers.
Plan: Enable collection of 4000-5000 units of blood spread across May, June till mid July.
Challenge: Even with almost one blood camp each day, maintain highest level of quality and safety. Ensure systematic delivery of the same to each donor.
You can help. Organise a blood donation drive or volunteer for a couple of days to help organise camps and pitch in.
Join in the action.