Red Cross launches campaign for youth blood

Indian Red Cross launched its campaign to motivate youth for enhanced participation in voluntary blood donation. In a function today the Society felicitated, among others, its four centurion donors and 20 youth donors (below the age of 40). A seminar was held on the theme “catch them young” in which, among others, Dr Salim Habayeb, WHO India Representative, Prof (Dr) S P Agarwal, Secretary General, IRCS and Dr Tim Bray. Head of the German Red Cross in India.

Today IRCS also celebrated elevation of its blood bank at NHQ as a model blood bank by NACO. This is the only blood bank outside the government fold in the countryto get into this privileged group.

“IRCS has an over eight million wide base of Youth Red Cross (YRC) spread across the country. We propose to start a motivational programme for youth. The aim is to initiate them in to voluntary blood donation. We propose to catch them young so that they become our lifelong blood donors and all of them end up being centurion donors”, said Dr. S.P. Agarwal, Secretary General, IRCS.

“Theme for next year is ‘new blood to world and that shall culminate our sustained endeavour. I exhort all youth above 18 years of age to enter their adulthood by becoming a blood donor”, said Dr Habayeb.

Indian Red Cross kicked off the campaign through its 116 blood banks across 14 States. Already, Red Cross collects over 80 percent blood from the voluntary donors against the national average of 62 percent.

Red Cross leads voluntary blood programme in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Orissa where in the year 2008-09 colle over 4.30 lakh units of blood was collected.