Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Promoting a noble cause

Thiruvananthapuram: As many as 120 students who constitute the Club 25 unit at All Saints College here get together every month, in an initiative that has emerged as a role model for other colleges.

The monthly meeting provides a forum for Club 25 volunteers, in the 18-25 age group, who donate blood three to four times a year. They also work to recruit new donors. The students also network with other blood-donor groups so that they can continue their donation after campus life.

At the monthly camps, students are sensitised to the need for blood donation. Volunteers help to wipe out misconceptions in the minds of fresh recruits and sustain interest in donation. Donors are also continuously monitored. “We motivate students to donate blood voluntarily, create general awareness about the science of blood and blood donation and the need for safe blood transfusion,” says Mary Mettilda, Club 25 coordinator at the college.

According to Ms. Mettilda, the percentage of women donors in the State is rather low in spite of the high literacy rate.

“There are several social taboos that prevent women from donating blood. The awareness level is very low. Most of them are unaware of their own blood groups and are afraid of post-donation effects. Lack of motivation is the main reason. Our motivators highlight the maxim: ‘If you can educate a man you educate a person. If you can educate a woman, you educate a family.’

‘Club 25’ is a Philippine National Red Cross Youth Department project, started in 1999, set up to recruit young volunteers as blood donors. The project emphasises the value of saving lives by giving blood.

A study conducted by the Club 25 unit revealed a high incidence of anaemia among the student community. “It is one of the easily preventable and curable deficiencies. Intake of good food, especially leafy vegetables, can prevent anaemia. But in the race to acquire a slim body, girls often neglect food,” says Ms. Mettilda.

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