Indian blood donation project grows in South Africa

World Blood Donation Day, initiated by Satya Sai Baba, has grown by more than 20 percent annually since it was started a decade ago.

The World Blood Donation Day, initiated by Indian spiritual leader Satya Sai Baba, has grown by more than 20 percent annually since it was started in South Africa a decade ago.

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"After being inaugurated by Sri Satya Sai Baba in India, the concept spread all over the world," Sini Subrayen, public relations officer of South African Blood Transfusion Service (SABT), said.

"In South Africa, it started out in the (mainly Indian) suburb of Lenasia, but after teaming up with the SABT, we have seen the project grow in all major cities in South Africa.

"Besides the regular blood donors who support us on this all-day event held on the third Sunday of September each year, we encourage each of them to bring a friend along, resulting in increased donations."

Although the support over the years has been largely from South African Indians, in recent years blood donation camps have also been set up in areas formerly occupied by whites in the apartheid era, as many Indians have moved to these areas.

This year there were 10 camps set up across greater Johannesburg, with three of them in mainly Indian areas. The three areas, Lenasia, Lenasia South and Mayfair, each delivered more than double the units of the other areas, showing again, as in the past, that the great number of Sai devotees from there played a major role.

The three top camps helped beat the target for the day of 600 units by over 25 percent after a total of 755 units were collected.