Following a need-assessment survey conducted jointly by RC Trivandrum Central, RID 3211, and the CSI Mission Hospital, Kazhakootam, and keeping the focus on the city of Thiruvananthapuram needing about 400 units of blood every day to help those requiring blood transfusion, RC Trivandrum Central has gifted the city a blood bank on wheels. The blood collected from this mobile blood bank will help save the lives of patients, accident victims and surgical cases in over five medical colleges and medical research centres like the Regional Cancer Centre, Sree Chithra Medical Research Centre, etc in the city.
Named ‘Rtn R Ravindrakumar Memorial Blood Bank on Wheels’ in the memory of past president of the club who passed away last year, this van acquired and equipped at a cost of ₹50 lakh will “help significantly boost blood donation efforts, especially among the city’s busy urban population, and encourage young professionals and students who often cite time constraints as a reason for not donating blood, to come forward for this great cause,” said RID 3211 PDG Suresh Mathew, the moving spirit behind the project and the one who conceptualised the idea of bringing a blood bank to the doorstep of donors in this busy city.
He said this mobile blood bank will directly visit high-density locations like IT parks, engineering colleges and corporate establishments to organise donation camps. “This approach eliminates the need for potential donors to travel to fixed centres, saving them valuable time and effort. The initiative was funded through a global grant, executed in partnership with RC Singapore Raffles,” he added.
Fisheries, Culture and Youth Affairs minister Saji Cherian flagged off the vehicle, and said this timely facility “would be a great asset to the health sector, providing essential support to medical colleges and proving particularly helpful for accident emergencies in the Kazhakoottam and coastal areas.” Equipped with all modern amenities, including a sophisticated refrigeration system for safe blood storage, the vehicle has multiple donation stations, allowing several donors to donate blood simultaneously.
The mobile blood bank has been handed over to its project partners, the CSI Mission Hospital, for operational management. The project was initiated by past president P R Kartha and completed this year by club president Col K E Rajan.
Speaking to Rotary News, Mathew said since its launch, around 50,000 people had already watched the videos on this blood bank on wheels, posted by social media influencers. “The mainstream print and electronic media covered the launch and the IMA (Indian Medical Association) has already tied up with our beneficiary hospital CSI Mission Hospital to use this mobile blood collection unit for their blood mobilisation drives. Trivandrum Technopark and Trivandrum Techno City have a combined work force of 140,000 techies, of which around 70 per cent are below age 40 years. To encourage this group to donate blood, RC Trivandrum Technopark has already taken up a promotion drive among tech companies. Videos and relevant information has been shared on several Rotary WhatsApp groups.”
He said the van was spacious enough to allow three people to donate blood at the same time. “Our target is to collect blood from 50–75 persons a day; that will give us 150–200 units of blood products. The blood will be separated into components at the Dr S M Memorial Medical College where the mother blood bank is located.”
The CSI Mission Hospital is the satellite city medical centre of this same medical college. “Interestingly, the stationary blood storage unit at this city medical centre was also set up by Rotary under a GG,” he smiles.
On the demand for blood in Kerala’s capital city, Mathew says “as many as 400 units of blood are required in Thiruvananthapuram every day, mainly because the capital region has so many medical colleges (five), research institutions and super specialty hospitals. Over 100 surgeries are done in the city every day, and numerous accident cases also require urgent blood transfusion. Unlike in the past, today’s youth are too busy to spare half a day to come to a blood bank, but they are not averse to donating blood. This has created shortage of blood in the capital city.”
Happy at the response, the past governor noted that pressing into service this new facility, the IMA has already started mobilisation camps with this mobile unit, and several Rotary clubs have booked this van to organise their own blood collection camps. “We have ensured that our Blood Bank on Wheels will be available to anyone who is interested in conducting free of cost camps.” The CSI Mission Hospital will issue donor cards, so that in a time of need they can avail blood using these cards. “We already have a Rotary Dialysis Centre and a blood storage unit at the same hospital. This beneficiary hospital is highly service minded and has worked in close cooperation with Rotary.”
Those who have substantially contributed to this project include assistant governor Ranjit Suseelan, president of Rotary e-Club of Kerala Global, Dubai; Roy Kurian Zacharia, PAG Wilson George and Anil T Nair of RC TVM East. The project has received DDF support from IPDG Sudhi Jabbar. Apart from PDG Mathew, who presented the project details at its launch, RC Trivandraum Central president Col Rajan, past president Kartha, PDGs Jabbar and Dr Thomas Vavanikkunnel, project director Donn Thomas, and club secretary Prem Thampi participated.
Institutions and groups in Thiruvananthapuram district interested in organising a blood donation camp with this mobile unit can contact 7510356766 or 7510357666