NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, JAN 3
To celebrate the achievements of unsung heroes of Ahmedabad who have without knowing the beneficiaries, helped save hundreds of lives by donating for years what is simply invaluable: blood which has no substitute, the Ahmedabad Red Cross Society has decided to felicitate them with ‘Champion Sherdil’ awards, announced Mukesh Patel, Chairman Emeritus, ARCS here on Monday.
“Ahmedabad Red Cross Society has completed 60 years and now it`s at the top in the country in terms of blood donation figures. It`s the philanthropic spirit of Amdavadis that has made a significant difference in the society. To celebrate this great achievement, we will honour 121 centurion donors, 40 champion donor institutions and 16 double century family champions with ‘Champion Sherdil’ Awards. This will inspire others to follow their suit,” said Mukesh Patel, president, ARCS.
Distinguished Hero Indian Army Lt Gen Dr DB Shekatar (Retd), PVSM, AVSM and VSM will felicitate them with the `Champion Sherdil awards at Ahmedabad Management Association here on Wednesday evening. The Indian Red Cross Society Gujarat State Branch Chairman Ajay Patel will be the Guest of Honour.
Sharing this with navjeevanexpress.com, Mukesh Patel said, “We have started the blood collection drive during the Indo-China war in 1962 to help our defence forces. Over the last 60 years, these donors have ensured the collection of 56.65 lakh units of 450 ml each, coming to a total of 254.925 crore ml blood, taking the Blood Donor to Population (BDP) ratio of Ahmedabad to over 4 times the national average of 0.9% and 2.5 times the global average of 1.5%. Put in a 3 mm diameter collection tube, this would stretch 3,60,573 km, the shortest distance from the earth to the moon.
The Ahmedabad Red Cross collects a whopping 2.27 lakh blood units a year, which comes to 1 donation every 2 minutes and 24 seconds. There were a total of 2,265 blood donation camps held in a year which comes down to 6 camps a day and one being held every 4 hours, round the year, Patel added.
The city has female, handicapped as well as negative centurion blood donors. At least 2,500 donors have donated blood more than 25 times.
