For him, blood donation is also celebration

PATIALA: He was unaware about the importance of blood donation till 1984 when he first donated blood for a terrorism victim, but that donation changed the life of Inder Kumar of Patiala. Blood donation is not just a mission, but celebration for him, come birthdays or marriage anniversaries in the family. Not only Inder, almost all members of his family comprising two brothers, a sister, their spouses and children now donate blood whenever anyone is in need.
The NGO, Punjab Yuva Chetna Manch (PYCM), started by Inder in 1990, has around 2,000 active blood donors as its members, who are always ready to donate blood for needy patients."When doctors saved a patient in Amritsar hospital with my blood in 1984, I felt great and made blood donation a mission of my life. Since then, I have donated blood around 80 times," said Inder while showing the appreciation certificates he received from various NGOs and government departments. He has received many state and district level awards as well.
Inder has so far organized around 80 blood donation camps in Patiala, leading to collection of 10,000 units of blood since he started blood donation. To encourage others to donate blood, family members have been celebrating various occasions of family by donating blood. Family members have been celebrating the birthdays of their children and marriage anniversaries by donating blood to spread awareness about the importance of blood donation. "There is lack of information about blood donation, but the number of donors could be increased if government starts awareness campaigns. In June 2010, we collected 1,039 units of blood, which was the biggest camp in Patiala. We convinced people to donate blood through awareness campaigns" said Inder.
"Lack of awareness is the main reason behind the small number of donors," said Inder and family members.