CHENNAI: It was the month of December in 2016 when Kiran Verma decided to quit his high-paying marketing job to champion the cause of voluntary blood donation. The transition was inspired by an unforgettable incident. Walking down memory lane, the 37-year-old social worker recalled, “Following a distress call from a stranger, I donated blood at a hospital. It was only when I met the recipient’s family that I learnt the blood was sold by a tout to a poor patient from Chhattisgarh whose wife had paid Rs 1,500. Due to poverty and the impact of demonetisation, the woman was pushed to prostitution to meet her husband’s medical expenses. Shattered and infuriated by the plight of the woman, I quit my job that day and chose to work towards ensuring free access to donated blood.”
And so, a year later, Verma set up Change With One foundation, through which he started the virtual, location-based blood donation mobile application/ website Simply Blood. The app brings blood donors and recipients together. The platform has, so far, saved around 35,000 lives through blood donation. Now, the Delhi-based man is on a 21,000-kilometre journey across India by foot to encourage blood donation. He began at Thiruvananthapuram on December 28, 2021, and set foot in Tamil Nadu on February 8. 50+ days into the endeavour, he found himself in Madurai, having marched an impressive 1,500 kilometres so far.
“To encourage voluntary blood donation — that has declined significantly in the past two years due to the pandemic — I have embarked on this journey, covering all the states and union territories. The motto is to spread awareness so that by 2026, nobody in India has to die waiting for blood.” said the social worker who has donated blood 46 times since the age of 19. During his solo journey on foot, Verma motivates the public by arranging open mic sessions or small gatherings with the help of the respective district administration and blood donation volunteer groups. Unfortunately, the same was not be possible in Madurai due to the urban local body polls. But one may find him looking for a conversation with a few along the way despite the language barrier.
Speaking of the mission, Verma informed, “Fifteen million units of blood are required in India every year. But, only 11 million units are pooled in, of which one million are discarded after being deemed unfit for use. Adding fuel to the fire was the Covid outbreak, which led to a dip in blood donations at hospitals due to infection scare and hesitancy among the regular donors.” The gap between the need and availability of blood can be filled through collective efforts of the public, he pointed out. “When everyone in the country could join hands and eradicate polio, it is definitely possible to avoid loss of lives due to want of blood, without having to spend a penny,” he added.
This is not Verma’s first stunt with an awareness march. Earlier in 2018, he travelled 16,000 kilometres across India, covering over 6,000 kilometres on foot, to spread awareness on blood donation. Now, he is headed to Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district to get the message out.