Since 1999 I became a life member of the Indian Red Cross Society and got associated with the Indian Red Cross Society, Odisha State Branch (IRCS, OSB). May 8 is observed as World Red Cross Day, and on the eve of the occasion, IRCS, OSB, organises a voluntary blood donation camp at Red Cross Bhawan every year.

I render the service in the camp as a volunteer. I was present there throughout the programme in 2002 Red Cross Day voluntary blood donation camp.

The Capital Hospital Red Cross Blood Bank was collecting blood; so Dr Debasish Mishra and his team were present. At the end of the camp, Dr Mishra wanted to know about me and invited me to his blood bank. After some days when I went to the Blood Bank, he praised me and wanted to send my name to State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC) for training on blood donation. Before that, the SBTC was started in our State.

I agreed and filed up a form for the training. After ourdiscussion, when Dr Mishra knew that I was a lawyer, he told me to help him to form an association in his Blood Bank.

In our State, the SBTC started the Motivators Training Program on07-06-2002 for two days, and it was my privilege that I was the FirstBatch Trained Motivator in Odisha for voluntary blood donation.

In the First Batch, 29 participants from the Blood Banks of Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar Municipal Hospital, besides from Padampur, Phulbani, Anandapur, Bargarh Bhawanipatna, Basta, Baripada, Bhadrak, Balangir, Sambalpur, and Cuttack did participate. It was an opportunity to form a State lever Blood Donor’s and Motivator’s Association in Odisha.

So after the training with the permission of the authority on 08-06-2002, the blood donors and motivators from different districts sat together and decided to form a State level association.  In the meeting, it was decided to nominate one member as convenor to convey the first general body meeting. I was unanimously nominated as the convenor. The second batch of motivators training started from 09-06-2002, and as the convenor, I went there and convinced the motivators about the association. They, too, agreed and resolved like the 1st batch. In the 2nd batch, motivators from Capital Hospital and BMC of Bhubaneswar, besides from Brahapur, Cuttack, Chhatrapur, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Hindol, Keonjhar, Kamakhyanagar, Nuapada, Paralakhemundi, Patnagarh and Rayagada were present.

July 14, 2002 is a remarkable day for all blood donors and motivators of our State. As the convenor, I called the first General Body Meeting to form the association.

The meeting was held in Red Cross ODMP Training Centre. The then Honorary Secretary of Indian Red Cross Society, Odisha State branch Rabiratna Das provided the training centre free of cost and the then Director, SBTC Dr LN Hati provided the lunch and tea for all participants. The first meeting was presided over by me as the founder president.As the guests Red Cross State secretary Rabiratna Das, Director Health Dr PK Acharya, Director, SBTC Dr LN Hati, Blood Bank Director Dr Banka Nidhi Mishra, BBO Dr Debasish Mishra, apart from the NSS Coordinators of Utkal University and CHSE were present.The by-law of Orissa Voluntary Blood Donors and Motivator’s Associations was approved in the meeting, and an ad-hoc committee was formed.  From July 14, 2002, the voluntary blood donation movement started with renewed vigour.

At that time, voluntary blood donation was only near ten percent in our State, but it has touched near 70 per cent today. We are yet to achieve the main aim of our association, that is, a 100% voluntary blood donation in our State.

(Dashsarma is founder president, Odisha Voluntary Blood Donors’ and Motivators’ Association, M: 9938537600)