A blood bank at their doorstep

Rotary Club of Poona, D 3131, recently sponsored a blood collection van, with support from Zylog plastalloys. The van, costing ₹ 35 lakh, is equipped with two deep freezers to store collected blood until it reaches the blood bank/hospital, and has the required inverters and batteries.

DG Abhay Gadgil handed over the van to Dr Ajay S Chandanwale, the Dean of BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital, in the presence of PDG Vinay Kulkarni, DGND Rashmi Kulkarni and Club President Prakash Telang.

“We came up with this idea to mainly cater to blood donors living far away from blood banks or hospitals and who are keen to donate blood,” said Telang. DG Gadgil is happy that the Rotary-CSR initiative has fructified and is hopeful that more clubs will be inspired to replicate this project. “A lot of good can happen when corporates ­collaborate with Rotary to develop communities,” he said.

The 80-year-old club, chartered in 1936, has a long relationship with the hospital, having donated a human milk ­collection van and various medical equipment for the paediatric ward. Telang invites Rotary clubs across ­Maharashtra to avail the services of the van for their blood collection ­initiatives.