COIMBATORE: The number of times he has donated blood surpasses his age. R. Manikandan, who is 39 years old, has till date, donated blood 55 times. His tryst with blood donation started while he was just 17 years old.
Currently working as a manager at Savidha Medical Center, Karamadai, he shares with DC on the occasion of World Blood Donor Day (WBDD), observed on June 14, Thursday, that the demand for blood can match supply if only more volunteers come ahead and willingly donate blood in times of need and at other times as well. “Unlike organ donations, blood can be donated by a living being.
So if more people turn donors, several lives can indeed be saved,” he says. Way back in September 1998, Manikandan got news of an accident victim who was in urgent need of blood. This prompted him to volunteer to donate blood. After checking his vital parameters like haemoglobin level and weight, among others, doctors gave him a go-ahead to donate blood.
“The road accident victim who was a child was saved,” his face lights up with joy saying this. In December the same year, Manikandan, a major, continued to donate blood every 90 to 95 days, taking the number of donations made to 55.
Most often, he responds to emergency calls for blood and is a regular at blood donation camps organized by various hospitals and social service organizations.
The last time he donated blood was on June 6 when the Savidha Medical Center and hospital he works for, organized a blood donation camp as part of their second anniversary celebrations.
“Much to our surprise, a majority of blood donors, (about 30 percent), who are otherwise unwilling to donate blood were women. There have been times when I have donated blood to a patient and have performed surgery on the same patient. Blood donation can save lives,” Dr. Sasithra Damodharan, gynecologist and chief medical officer of the 50-bedded multi specialty Savidha Medical Center and hospital said.
