Blood Donation Drive at IIMB

Vikasana organizes blood donation drive twice every year in association with the Lions Club. Considering the hectic schedule of the students during the weekdays, we organize the drive on Saturdays. We invite all students and faculties in IIMB for the drive and we publicize the event across the campus through posters, mailers and word of mouth. We also create awareness on blood donation among the student community through videos which are usually played during class breaks and uploaded in the FB page. The camp happens at the EB Dining hall opposite to the MARS store and there is not much waiting time for any person who comes to donate blood. Those who donate blood get certificates from Lions club recognizing their noble gesture. In spite of all this, the number of units of blood that we are able to collect during the drive has been around 95-105 only. In a campus with more than 1000 people, effectively less than 10% donate blood. Few reasons behind people not donating blood are Some are scared of needles and feel that the process is unsafe Some are too lazy to go and donate blood and some are not in campus during the weekend Some think that they cant donate blood due to their physical condition (they think they are either weak or they dont have the right blood pressure to donate) Hostel parties usually happen on Friday or Saturday. Most of them get drunk and hence are not eligible to donate blood the next day

As a Junior Coordinator of Vikasana, how would you raise awareness among the IIMB community about blood donation and how will you ensure that more number of units of blood is collected from the community?

Solution: To overcome the fear, myths, hesitation, and laziness towards blood donation we should focus on a 4 level strategy: Indirect Awareness Starting from a month before the blood donation camp, we should circulate fliers, e-mails, display posters stating the very basic facts, for example: Need for blood Process Safety: A new, sterile needle is used for each donor No Pain: Only a slight pinch when the needle is inserted, but actual drawing causes no pain Not every medicine affects your eligibility as a blood donor Each blood type is valuable, etc.

Various competitions could be organized for designing posters and slogans to be displayed. Direct Awareness Exactly an evening or two before the blood donation drive organize a session for faculty and students to create awareness on Blood Donation. Coordinating with various class representatives we may ensure maximum participation for the session. The session would touch-up on the major reasons why people do not donate blood and updating them on the need of blood. We may even organize an online 2-min multiple choice quiz, and winners may be given goodies during the session. Interactive Awareness The third, and the most effective step, is to invite volunteering parents and children from various societies for children suffering from Thalassemia and Leukemia as a part of the above session. The honorary guests should reach out to the students, and the overall experience would be heart touching and overwhelming. Although an extreme step in nature, this would ensure that maximum students would participate in the blood donation drive, not out of pity, but because they now know how much a pint of blood may mean to someone. Feedback After the blood donation drive is completed, very simplistic feedback forms should be made available with various tick boxes having questions of the sort Are you a first time donor? Did you feel pain? Was the overall process satisfactory? If not, please state reason below, etc. As important it is to promote the blood donation camp, equally important it is to seek feedback so as to ensure a better process next time. And at the same time, feedback mechanism ensures that we have written evidence to share in the next round of awareness drive of how the overall blood donating experience is.