MADURAI: It was the month of December, and the year 2016. That was the time when Kiran Verma decided to quit his high-paying marketing job to champion the cause of voluntary blood donation.
The reason: He witnessed a tout selling his blood to a poor woman.
Meet the Delhi-based man, who is now on a 21,000 kilometre journey across India by foot to encourage blood donation. On the 50th day of his two-year campaign by walk, the 37-year-old social worker was at Madurai on Wednesday.
Walking down the memory lane, Verma recalled, "Following a distress call from a stranger, I donated blood at a hospital in December 2016. It was only when I met the recipient's family I learnt that the blood was sold to a poor patient from Chhattisgarh whose wife had paid `1,500 for it. Due to poverty and the impact of demonetisation, the women was pushed to prostitution to meet her husband's medical expenses. Shattered and infuriated by the plight of the woman, I quit my job as a marketing professional the very same day and chose to work towards ensuring free access to donated blood."
A year later, Verma set up 'Change with one foundation' through which he started the virtual, location-based blood donation mobile/website application 'Simply blood' that brings blood donors and recipients together. The platform has so far saved around 35,000 lives through blood donation.
The social worker who has donated blood 46 times since the age of 19 said, "On a mission to encourage voluntary blood donation that has declined significantly in the past two years due to the pandemic, I have embarked on a 21,000 kilometre journey on foot, covering all the states and Union Territories. The motto is to spread awareness so that by 2026, nobody in India should die waiting for blood."
Starting his two-year walking campaign from Thiruvananthapuram on December 28 last year, he set foot on Tamil Nadu on February 8. Verma, who has covered over 1,500 kilometre so far, reached Madurai on Tuesday evening and completed the 50th day of his ambitious journey at the temple town on Wednesday. He is next headed to Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district.
Speaking about the mission, Verma said, "In a year, 15 million units of blood is required in India. But, only 11 million units of blood is pooled in, of which 1 million units are discarded after being deemed unfit for use. Adding fuel to the fire is the Covid outbreak which led to a dip in blood donation at hospitals due to infection scare and hesitancy even among the regular donors."
During his solo journey on foot, the social worker motivates the public by arranging open mic sessions or small gatherings with the help of the respective district administration and blood donation volunteer groups. "As Madurai is gearing up for urban local body polls, a social gathering could not be arranged. Instead, I could speak to a few while on the go, despite the language barrier," Verma shared.
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," Verma added.
Earlier in 2018, he had travelled 16,000 kilometres across the country, covering over 6,000 kilometres on foot, to spread awareness on blood donation.