NEW DELHI: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan called upon all Indians to convert their birthdays into opportunities for donating blood. He was speaking after inaugurating the E-Registry for voluntary blood donors, here, on Wednesday.
“By donating one unit of blood a year, a person can get more blessings than from visiting any place of worship”, he stressed.
The Health Minister said the government is putting in place a nationwide social movement to motivate more people to join an endeavour to bridge the demand-supply gap of blood.
“We have a shortfall of 2-3 million units of blood per year. Through enhanced voluntarism we can easily make up the deficit. Till date 84 per cent of the requirement of safe blood have been fulfilled. We must make it to 100 per cent soon,” he said.
Contrary to popular perception, a person’s health does not deteriorate on donating blood. Regular blood donation is a reliable way of updating one’s health condition. It secures a person from heart attacks and cancer and is a good method to burn calories. Moreover, it gives the supreme satisfaction of saving lives.
The E-Registry for voluntary blood donors has been developed with the support of Electronics and Information Technology Department. It works through a simple procedure of registering oneself online. The Minister was the first one to register with the facility.