It was like any other day for Kishore Acharya (25) who had just finished his dinner and was looking forward to catch some entertainment on the television when the news broke out about the tragic train accident at Bahanaga in Odisha’s Balasore district.
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Mr. Acharya did not think twice and rushed to the District Headquarter Hospital, Balasore as his instincts told him that donating blood was one of the best ways in which to support the local administration in providing first aid and medical care to victims. He was not alone. Scores of people from nearby villages and towns rushed to the nearest medical centres to donate blood.
Wajahat Ali, a 30-year-old, was seen anxiously enquiring about donating blood at the Soro Community Health Centre. Mr. Mr. Ali, a daily wage earner, sat silently at the hospital campus on Friday night. He told the authorities that he would not leave till it was declared that blood was no longer required.
The train accident has once again shown the humane side of villagers who queued up outside medical centres in large numbers to donate blood. Some civil society groups also chipped in for the noble cause.
The Balasore District Headquarter Hospital usually had a balance of 1,000 units of blood. On a single night, the collection of blood led to increase in stock at the hospital to 1,700 units.
“As critical patients were shifted to bigger hospitals like the SCB Medical College Hospital, we did not require much blood. Only 10 units of blood were spent,” Balasore Blood Bank officer, M. K. Biswal, said.
Jayant Panda, Professor of Medicine at the SCB Medical College Hospital, said that over 3,000 units of blood had been collected since Friday night in Cuttack, Balasore and Bhadrak, and people were voluntarily arriving to donate blood.
