World Blood Donor Day: How Delhi cops are leading the way amid pandemic

During Covid-19, many donors were needed to save lives, especially at a time when citizens were afraid to step out of their houses. And that’s when Delhi Police personnel stepped up, and have continued to donate blood amid the pandemic.

A lifesaving act – blood donation has found new meaning during the pandemic. And World Blood Donor Day, which is celebrated every year on June 14, reiterates the significance of the need to donate blood. During Covid-19, many donors were needed to save lives, especially at a time when citizens were afraid to step out of their houses. That’s when some police officers stepped up, and till date they have been donating blood, only to celebrate almost every day as blood donation day!

Many Delhi Police officers have been regularly donating blood and inspiring others to follow suit, especially during the pandemic.

“I had never donated blood before, but amid the pandemic I received SOS messages from people and was inspired to go in for donation during the first lockdown last year. Since then, I’ve made it a point to donate blood every 90 days,” says Pooja Junjadiya, a constable with Delhi Police. She feels more people need to make this essential contribution in saving lives, keeping in line with this year’s theme for the day: Give blood and keep the world beating. “I always wanted to donate blood, just did not know where to start. But we need to make more people aware of how safe and necessary it is to do so,” she adds.

Trying his best to raise awareness about blood donation is constable Arjun, who has donated blood over two dozen times since 2010. “There is a demand for blood, platelets from patients who have thalassemia, cancer, or are in emergency situations. We try to take all the requests and have an active Facebook group of police officers in the city, where we list all messages and respond to requests depending on who’s the closest to the given location. I try to tell people to not just donate when there is need, but also donate regularly to the blood banks that receive a barrage of requests on a daily basis,” says the officer, who is posted in outer district’s Sultanpuri Station.

And having donated blood, these donors feel elated to help those in grave need and see their families heave a sigh of relief. All this for the sake of humanity! “More often than not, we don’t know the patients. We simply respond to any urgent message that we get,” says Sub Inspector Satwant Singh, posted in Delhi’s Northwest District, and recalls: “I remember last year I had just finished my night duty and was about to head home when a colleague asked me to respond to a request for blood at a hospital nearby. I immediately went and donated blood, and the family of the patient could not stop thanking me. These are the small moments that remind us why we do this.”

Having donated blood 14 times, Singh says it’s imperative to educate everyone about the need for blood donation. He adds, “I started donating blood as part of my college’s NSS program, and have been doing it since then. More so because I have a rare blood group. We should teach youngsters about blood donation because every drop of blood can save a life!”

Author tweets @bhagat_mallika

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