Everyone has fears, some are more irrational than others but being afraid of a four inch needle invading your veins and leeching out your blood is fairly normal. Like so many people Ujjwal Lad had this very phobia and until 2006 refused to go anywhere near an injection. However one fateful encounter changed his mind - and his life - as it led to the creation of the pan-India blood donation team Rakt Archana.
In his hometown of Bhopal, Ujjwal heard the story of a nine day old baby in desperate need of a blood transfusion. The child had a very rare blood type – O negative – and was in need of a viable donor before he succumbed to the Jaundice that was eating away at his fragile body. His friend, a medical resident, knew Lad shared the same blood type and asked if he would be willing to donate. The first time he tried he was paralysed with fear and backed out but when the child’s grandfather fell at his feet and begged for help he knew he couldn’t refuse.
The next day Lad told his colleagues this touching story and they all decided to donate blood as well. They exchanged numbers and details of their blood groups and promised to stay alert about anybody in the area in need of a donation. They began with 8 members but soon realised they needed more people because the standard waiting period between donations is three months. This is when Rakt Archana was truly born.
They began promoting their cause on Orkut which at the time was the most active social networking site. People would contact them with their details if they wanted to help out and would be added to their list of potential donors. This way whenever they were contacted by a family or hospital in need they would have donors on standby ready to save lives.
They encouraged people to post selfies of them donating blood, not only as a means of promoting the campaign but also to ensure no one was harmed by donating too often. When WhatsApp and Facebook became part of the mainstream social media Rakt Archana was given another boost. They now had platforms to keep in touch and advertise their work which is really when they turned into a nationwide organisation.
Today they have over 60 WhatsApp groups across the country each with at least 200 donors. The network is overseen by Lad and the eight people who make up the core team but the organisation has taken on wings of its own. They proudly claim that there is no city in India where they cannot arrange for blood and their selfless work has saved countless lives. These quiet heroes who started from nothing are now helming one of the most useful medical NGOs in the nation.
You can contact Rakt Archana at these numbers: 9753660006, 9926834399, 9926166648
Visit their Facebook page for more information.
Representational feature image via India Times