Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, August 23: The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has been able to organise more than 300 blood donation camps and collect more than 37,000 units of blood in just five months under the Jeevan Bindu programme, BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said here Sunday.
“I am happy to share that after the Jeevan Bindu initiative, there is a visible 21 per cent improvement in the voluntary blood donation in the state as compared to previous years. More importantly, this movement has been able to effectively dispel many wrong and superstitious notions among large sections of our population regarding the effects of blood donation,” Patnaik said at a state-level workshop on the programme at Soochana Bhawan.
This has come as a boon for road-accident victims and those suffering from sickle cell anaemia, cancer, haemophilia and thalassemia, he said.
The Chief Minister urged MPs, MLAs, party workers and members of panchayati raj institutions to take the initiative to donate blood. “By the end of one year, we should have a directory of one lakh blood donors and by the end of three years the directory should have five lakh voluntary blood donors,” he said.
Health and family welfare minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said the state needs approximately 30,000 units of blood every month but collects 12,000-13,000 units per month. The programme should thus be expanded to every corner of the state to meet the demand, he said.
Nayak said the government has decided to set up three blood separation units and five nucleic acid testing-polymerase chain reaction (NAT PCR) units in the state soon.
Senior BJD leader and Dhenkanal MP Tathagata Satpathy urged the government to launch a toll free helpline to help people in need of blood.
“BJD is the first party in the country that is engaged in the noble programme. I am very happy that people are voluntarily coming forward to donate blood,” the MP said.
He requested the state government to set up a trauma care unit in Odapada and Banarpal villages and a blood separation unit in his consistency.
The Chief Minister felicitated the BJD organisational districts that have performed well in organising blood donation camps.
A photo exhibition on blood donation was also organised at the Soochana Bhawan.