Why One Should Donate Blood In College

I am the mentor of a student club in my B school.  This club also takes responsibility for the annual blood donation camp. Each year, we have the same conversation with the office bearers. They keep emphasizing that the blood donation camps success is the number of units donated; they keep talking about the feel good factor for the donors and so on in their campaign. They try to get the list of last year’s donors to keep up the numbers.  I keep emphasizing that this is the wrong measure for the success of the camp. I remind them that the success of the camp is the number of FIRST time donors who come and donate.

Why do I think so? Students come from different backgrounds.  Some conservative, some overprotective.  Parents have a way of shielding their children from potential “harmful” situation and often blood donation is not something which naturally gets encouraged by parents.  Each time there was an need to donate at home, the elders in the family jump in and their office colleagues jump in and so on.  Now, please remember these occasions have always been stressful and each person (barring exceptions) feel stressed or apprehensive when blood donation is being talked about.

Here is where the college event has its role. Usually, the camps are in cheerful locations (a nice lounge or the mess hall) which evoke positive memories.  There are buntings, posters and a festive appearance.  There are jokes and happiness all around. All kids are brimming with good health. The plump guy is ribbed for the number of units he “should” donate and the thin one makes every one wonder aloud if any blood would be available or not. Bravado of the guy who finishes up in 15 minutes and his friend who has thinner veins still lying around pushing the rubber ball wondering what is going on.  And the doctors and technicians smiling indulgently through all this half-baked stuff!  More importantly, there is the assurance that one’s friends are around to help out and encourage each other. There is no better place to lose one fear of the unknown than amongst friends in such a lovely and friendly atmosphere.

We just finished the camp this morning.  We pitched to the students as to how to lose their fears and become life-long donors.  It worked.  This year the collection was substantially more than what it was last year; with 40% of them first time donors.  They had to stop because the hospital ran out the blood bags they brought along!

Remember that each new donor would keep donating blood most of his life once he or she loses the initial fear.  So a new donor is worth more that the one unit of blood available from a second time donor.

Blood donation camps in colleges and universities is not about the number of units of blood.  It is about creating new blood donors in a happy and enabling environment.  The biscuits and juices too help!

Bala@Panaji