It all started through informal conversations on a WhatApp group to do something good for the society. The members of this fun group, we are told volunteered to help people when our state experienced floods in December 2015. Since then on, members of this fun group have been in touch with each other. Informal chatting on the group prompted a few like-minded individuals to continue to do something good for the society and thus was born the idea to motivate the public to donate blood to the needy during times of emergency. This was how emergency blood donation WhatsApp group called Life Savers came into being last August and seven members are part of its core team.
We are told by one of the founders of this group that initially, when this group of like-minded individuals formed this group, they had a slow start. However, since this January, the number of emergency requests for blood donations has increased and simultaneously has decreased the time that Life Savers takes to identify and ensures that the respective donors reach the hospital and donates blood.
“Since this January, for the sake of convenience and in order to make sure that we are able to reach out to the donors faster, we have formed separate blood donation groups for individual blood groups. From August 2016 to January this year, we have facilitated the donation of 116 units of blood. Ever since we have created individual WhatsApp groups for the various blood groups, our membership strength has increased and currently we have around 2,000 members.” Yogeshwaran ER says.
As soon as the core members of Life Savers receives a request for blood, a message with the requirement, contact details of the care taker of the patient and in some cases the reason for the blood requirement is also shared in the respective WhatsApp blood group. “A majority of times the patient who is undergoing surgery requires blood. In some cases victims of a road accident too require blood. As soon as we receive a message stating the requirement for blood, the same is verified and it takes three hours for us to close the request. The donor who voluntarily agrees to donate blood is sent to the hospital. We have been able to successfully find donors for rare blood groups too in three hours.” Yogeshwaran says.
Through this Life Savers initiative Yogeshwaran has made many friends. Throwing light on one such incident, Yogeshwaran tells us that a patient who was originally from Pondicherry was undergoing surgery at a city-based hospital. This incident, he tells us happened last September. “About three hours prior to this surgery, Life savers received a request for O- negative blood and we successfully arraigned for six units of blood to be donated. The patient and his family were more than thankful as the surgery was delayed by two days as the family was unable to find donors. I am in touch with this patient. Just yesterday, I received a call from one a source in Pondicherry who required B+ blood. I called this Pondicherry-based family and they obliged.”
Yogeshwaran continues to list several such incidents where strangers have become donors and friends and the recipient is totally unaware of who the donor is. All this for just one reason, to save as a life. Currently, Life Savers operates through 12 active WhatsApp groups in Coimbatore and they have one group for Madurai, Erode and Tiruppur districts respectively. As plans for the future, Life Savers aims at having a presence in all the districts in Tamil Nadu.
Before he leaves us, Yogeshwaran says “As soon as one receives an emergency request for blood, one must share the same as you never know a message can prompt an individual to donate blood. Also, every individual must come ahead and donate blood as and when it is required and possible for the individual to do so.”
His face beams with joy when he shares with us that in the last seven days alone, the volunteer donors of Life Savers have donated 70 units of blood. To join Life Savers WhatsApp 97893-91341. The same number can be called in case blood is required.