PANAJI: Goa Medical College Hospital observed ‘World Blood Donor Day’ on Monday (June 14) with a low-key felicitation ceremony to honour the donors. The premier state-run hospital also launched a social media awareness campaign to amplify this year’s slogan of ‘Give blood and keep the world-beating’.
The ‘World Blood Donor Day’ is celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Austrian American immunologist and pathologist Karl Landsteiner, who was born on June 14, 1868. The 1930 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine-winner discovered the major blood groups and the development of the ABO system of blood typing, has made blood transfusion a routine medical practice.
GMC thanked the voluntary donors for their valuable help in the unprecedented pandemic era. One of the stellar contributors, Pranav A Prabhu Parrikar, who provided equipment, served meals in the wards apart from giving plasma as well as arranging blood donors, was felicitated.
The following personalities were also honoured for donating plasma. Devansh Cholera donated plasma 8 times – the highest individual contribution. Luke Bossuet Sequeira Vaz, Nathan Lee Vaz, Saiyesh Audi, Vidisha Padihar, Dr. Amullya Pednekar, Danees Kazi, Ashwin Upasane, Rupesh Naik, Krishnanath Chari and Sanatkumar Phadte were the other donors.
Some of the organisations who came forward to provide donors, were also hailed. Commscope India Private Limited provided GMC with 63 donors while IFB Industries Limited chipped in with 18 donors.
Dr. Shivanand Bandekar, Dean, Goa Medical College, Dr. Geeta Kakodkar, Project Director, Goa State AIDS control society; Dr. MV Mallya, Head Of Blood Bank, Associate Professor, Goa Medical College, graced the function.
Dr Bandekar appreciated the good work that the GMC blood bank is doing. He said as an orthopedic resident when he came to collect blood, it was just blood for him. But now that he sees the donors he realises the selfless act that they have to do, so that many patients’ lives are saved. The dean highlighted the fact that due to the huge amount of blood that was given to Ayush Minister, Shripad Naik; that they were able to save his life.
