Shillong, June 14: World Blood Donor’s Day 2013 with a theme “Give the gift of life: donate blood” was observed here on Friday.
World Blood Donor Day is observed to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank voluntary unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood.
To highligth the importance of this day, various programmes were being organised by the Meghalaya Aids Control Society (MACS) and Meghalaya State Blood Transfusion Council in collaboration with Licensed Blood Banks, East Khasi Hills District,
Addressing the gathering, Parliamentary Secretary, Dr Celestine Lyngdoh (MLA) stressed on the need to spread more awareness to the people especially those in the rural areas about the importance of blood donation and the need to shed away the fear psychosis people have about blood donation.
“All the blood donors’ agencies should work hard in spreading the awareness not only in cities but also in remote areas. It is high time that the blood donors’ agencies spread out and give information to the general masses as most of the people are not aware of voluntary blood donation,” said Dr Lyngdoh.
Urging MACS to initiate the idea of having a website for individual blood donors, Dr Lyngdoh said that if such awareness programs are only done in schools and colleges, many people who are not students will miss the opportunity and hence if a website is setup one can easily come forward to donate blood.
Besides the prize distribution & felicitation of Donor organizations and testimony, sharing of experience by regular donors, a presentation on the importance on voluntary blood donation was given by Dr Hughbert Dkhar, Pathologist at Nazareth hospital.
Earlier, more than 30 volunteers of NSS, NCC and the RRC of St Edmund’s College donated blood at the Regional Blood Bank, Pasteur Institute Lawmali on Wednesday as part of their regular programme and on the occasion of World Blood Donors Day which was commemorated on Friday.
The programme saw the participation of doctors, NGOs, church-based organisations, students besides others.(SP News)
