As many as 72 teachers and students of Nationalist Doctors’ Association (NDA) of Tripura on June 14 donated blood at Agartala Govt Medical College (AGMC) with the clarion call of health minister Sudip Roy Barman to manage the demand of blood on World Blood Donor Day.

Inaugurating the camp Mr Roy Barman lauded the effort of the doctors for leading from the front for a social cause such as blood  donation. Tripura set records a number of times with high percentage of blood donation and blood donation has been a common mean for social work either via any political organizations or under the banner of any social club and organization, he said.

“It is a matter of pride that I am a part and parcel of great movement; you all know that the day is celebrated across the globe on the  birth anniversary of Dr Karl Landsteiner, who invented the grouping of blood. Its now a challenge in front of us, how we fill up the gap between demand and supply for blood units, said Mr Roy Barman.

Dr Kanak Choudhury, the organizer of the event said the mind set of people should change regarding blood donation and it is safe to  donate blood. Tripura achieved 82.80 per cent of required blood units through voluntary donation camps, achievement in the year 2016-17 was 94.93 per cent. “We have to take challenges of previous records of Tripura for voluntary blood donation and have to  achieve the 100 per cent target of voluntary blood donation.

He said the Blood Donation camp cannot solve blood shortage until and unless there is a change of mindset with people thinking to be Mobile Blood donors and of coming to help at each other’s day of requirement. Every year, on June 14, countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day. The event serves to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood and to raise awareness of the need for regular blood donations to ensure the quality, safety and availability of blood and blood products for patients in need.