SRIKAKULAM: To ensure free supply of blood to thalassemia patients in Srikakulam district on time, youth in Sompeta have launched Mission Thalassemia under the banner of Hrudayam Foundation. They started donating blood to the thalassemia patients and sickle cell anemia patients on need basis. They have been donating blood to different blood banks for the last few years to save the lives of patients in emergency conditions. As they obtain donor cards from different blood banks, they issue the same to the thalassemia patients to get blood from the blood banks free of cost.
There are nearly 80 thalassemia child patients in Sompeta and Palasa and its surrounding villages, and they need blood transfusion at least twice a month. A seven-year-old girl from Tekkali died of thalassemia about a week ago and a 10-year-old boy from the same family has been suffering from thalassemia.
The Hrudayam Foundation members have been donating blood to accident victims, delivery and surgery patients for the past few years and now they launched Mission Thalassemia. The aim of the foundation is to involve youth in the mission and ensure an uninterrupted supply of blood to the thalassemia patients.
“We have associated with GEMS blood bank, RIMS blood bank, new central blood bank and Pranadata blood bank to ensure free supply of blood to the thalassemia and sickle cell anemia patients. We organise blood donation camps for the said blood banks regularly to replenish the stocks,” Hrudayam Foundation founder and chairman Karri Minna Rao said.
“We have donated blood to eight thalassemia patients till now this month. As we have started campaigning for Mission Thalassemia, youth, mostly students, have been taking the membership voluntarily,” he explained. GEMS blood bank in-charge I Mahesh Kumar told TNIE that they had promised to supply blood free of cost to the thalassemia and sickle cell anemia patients, recommended by the Hrudayam Foundation.
Indian Red Cross Society Srikakulam blood bank chairman P Jagan Mohna Rao said that there are 280 thalassemia patients in the district and they need blood transfusion frequently. “We supply free blood to nearly 120 thalassemia patients every month. To meet the demand of blood for thalassemia patients, youth associations and voluntary organisations should donate the blood in a big way in the district,” he said.
A campaign to build ‘blood relation’
Hrudayam Foundation founder and chairman Karri Minna Rao said that they have associated with four different blood banks in the district to supply blood free of cost to the thalassemia and sickle cell anemia patients. He said there are 300 active members in the foundation who have been donating blood for
the past few years