Some good men who keep the blood line going

CHANDIGARH: They are the unsung heroes, the men who save lives and improve the health of others.
On World Blood Donor Day, June 14, also the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, the Nobel Prize winner who discovered the ABO blood group system, people who have crossed the 100-mark in blood donation are upbeat, and ready to contribute more towards this nobel cause.
They started a long time ago, but their enthusiasm and resolve haven’t wavered.
Saheb Saran Setia, 68, could not join the army during the ’62 war with China, but decided to do something that would help. It was on November 14, 1962, that he donated blood for the first time in Bombay. Today he has reached the 110-time peak.
He wants more youth to take up this noble cause. “Giving is joy, everyone should do something for society. When you save a life this way you become a hero.”
Ashwini K Munjal, a medical technologist, is happy that he has been able to donate blood 117 times. “I cannot help society with money, but blood donation is a good way to make a difference. I can still vividly remember the first time I donated blood on October 1, 1980, at Karnal.’’ To those who avoid donating blood due to some misapprehensions, Munjal says. “Our blood cells expire within 120 days, so people should donate freely, without fear.”
“It will be my 80th time this World Blood Donor Day, says Dr Pankaj Kaul, a 52-year-old senior technologist at PGI. In keeping with his vision of helping others, he donated his body to PGI on his 50th birthday.
He sees all this as ‘‘work done for the welfare of humanity”.