MADURAI: All it takes is a tiny pinprick and 10 minutes for KS Jeevan to donate blood. A peep into the 24-hour emergency ward of Madurai’s Government Raja Hospital (GRH) reveals how this blood alters everything. Soon, the families of critical patients—from accident victims, and patients with haemophilia disorders to expectant mothers—begin to breathe easy. One unit of blood can save the lives of four people, 52-year-old Jeevan continues to tell many groups across Tamil Nadu.
As for Jeevan, one of the several volunteers, he has saved countless people by donating blood at government hospitals in Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Dindigul and Theni. He works for ‘Uyir Thuli’ in the district and is an unmistakable face at GRH. While one unit might cost Rs 1,000 in private hospitals, volunteers like Jeevan ensure it reaches patients for free.
Jeevan recalls a rocky journey to India from Sri Lanka as a refugee in 1990. “The government and its people have been providing basic facilities to me with love. I wanted to do something in return for the nation. So, I decided to raise awareness among students,” says the interior designer. He has singlehandedly looped in several volunteers, especially medical college students who he has dubbed the first warriors of donating blood.
‘Uyir Thuli’ began informally working first in 2001 under the bright lights and crowded hallways of GRH. A Ramesh, a Superintendent in State Highways Department and the founder, recalls the early 2000s in the hospital, which caters to marginalised communities, saw the mushrooming of middle-men in the blood donation process. These men corrupted the mindset of volunteers who began selling their blood to the patients to rake in profits, he says. Ramesh and his friend K Santhosh Kumar would bring together 20 volunteers to donate blood free of cost to the patients of GRH. His landline would ring and he would already be riding off on his motorcycle, ready to pick up people from their doorsteps to donate blood.
Within a year, the group hit the 50-member mark, and strangely, they were called ‘Ratha katteri’ (which means monsters that suck blood), initially. But people realised the value of their service immediately. In 2004, Ramesh received a call that he would never forget in his lifetime. A 13-year-old girl required six units of B-positive blood for immediate open-heart surgery at Sree Chitra Tirunal Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. “I arranged five volunteers. We took tickets on an unreserved train and reached the hospital on time. The girl’s family was very poor, but they even offered us travel expenses. We then started believing there is meaning to our lives,” says Ramesh. That girl is now married but never forgets to wish him on Deepavali, Pongal, and the New Year.
In 2005, it received its registration and present Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu distributed identity cards to 200 volunteers. “Now, 1,500 volunteers donate blood at GRH. I can proudly say there are no more middlemen,” he says. The group branched out and began conducting camps in residential areas. GRH’s bank requires 100 units of blood a day, and these volunteers make sure they all pool in.Among the many volunteers is J Prasanna Kumar (35), an office bearer who has been working here for over 15 years. His bond with blood donation began back in his UG degree days at the Wakf Board College in Madurai.
After years at the organisation, Kumar knows time is of the essence. “All volunteers need is to be over 18 years and have a haemoglobin count of 12.5. Within minutes of conversation, it is the women from families that voluntarily come forward. Similarly, in college blood donation camps, more girl students and women teaching staff come forward to donate blood,” he says.
Jeevan points out that this is often an unappreciated job. The need of the hour is to raise awareness, he says, adding that he would continue to donate blood till the end of his life.