National Doctors’ Day – Blood Donation drive at Columbia Asia Referral Hospital Yeshwanthpur

Covid 19 has been an overwhelming experience for people worldwide. More so with doctors. They have gone above and beyond to serve people during this pandemic by taking on extended work hours, wearing PPE kits for long durations, bearing stress and isolating themselves from their family members with a brave heart.  Even in such situations, doctors do not miss any opportunity to contribute to the wellbeing of people or help general public. Keeping in mind the requirement of blood reserves for emergency situations and various conditions, many doctors from Columbia Asia Referral Hospital Yeshwanthpur (A unit of Manipal Hospitals) have come forward yet again to donate their blood with a smile. They participated in the blood donation drive organized by the hospital on the occasion of National Doctors’ Day. 

Along with doctors, other hospital employees enthusiastically participated in the drive and donated blood. 107 units of blood were collected during this drive. Some of the doctors who came forward to donate blood include Dr Supraja Chandrasekar, Consultant Pediatric Intensivist, Dr Sunita Gopalan, Consultant, Radiology, Dr. Divya Puttegowda, Consultant, Laboratory Medicine, Dr. Srividya S, Consultant, Internal Medicine and many more.  

As part of the campaign, the hospital organized a blood donation bus at Vijayanagar in association with Lions Club Vijayanagar, to encourage people to come forward and donate blood.  This encouraged people who did not want to visit the hospital due to fear of infection, to donate blood at their convenience.

Highlighting the importance of blood donation Col Rahul Tewari, General Manager, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital, Yeshwanthpur (A Unit of Manipal Hospitals) said “ To celebrate the doctor’s day in a meaningful way, we organized a blood donation drive.  We have seen that there is always a continuous need of blood from patients suffering from thalassemia or cancer, road accident victims, those on dialysis, and other emergency procedures. Blood donation is a selfless act which can save lives. However, Covid 19 has impacted this noble action as many people avoid visiting the hospital due to the fear of infection. Also, there is a lack of clarity among people about blood donation during Covid times or even after taking vaccination”.

The drive was organized adhering to all Covid protocols.