A blood donation camp was hosted on Thursday wherein relatives of a groom, Avinas Dash, of village Durgapur under Rasulpur block in Jajpur district participated in the drive.
"I regularly donate blood, and it was my wish to make blood donation a part of the marriage celebration. Marriage is the best occasion to encourage people to donate blood for which I organised the camp on my wedding reception day," said Avinas, who works as a volunteer-coordinator at the Central Blood Bank in Cuttack.
He had tied the knot with Ankita Dash, a teacher from Bramahabarada village on Monday.
"This is one occasion when my entire family, both from paternal and maternal sides, is present. As a gift, I asked each of them to donate blood. I also requested them to continue donating blood in future. This initiative is necessary as a bottle of blood can save a critically ill person's life," said Avinas.
He said 40 persons donated blood in the camp. Many members of Thenga Bahini led by Dr Manzoor Ali also donated blood.