Sunday, November 13, 2005

Give me your blood, I will give you freedom: S.C.Bose

Last week I donated blood for the 10th time... i m keeping track of all my donations coz recently i read an interview of a man who was donating it for the 100th time. I m not far away... just another 0 to go... :). So when I reached Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, the doctor told me tht I was called upon to donate blood for an emergency heart operation. She also introduced me to the patient's son. He had earlier called upon the services of his frnds but some of them had failed the test on various grnds like less haemoglobin count or high blood pressure (the hospital atmosphere sends shivers in some ppls bodies). Alongwith me was another man... probably in his mid 30s'. This dude was donating for the 1st time.. i guessed tht immd. frm his questions while filling out the form. This man n myself were called in at the same time. Since i had been there earlier i straightaway went in n sat on one of the cots. Now, this man didn't know where to sit but he started acting as if he visited there regularly. I think he assumed tht i was scared of donating n he started mumbling something like "It is very painful... big needles" just to scare me off. Since I almost was confident tht it was his 1st time, i kept my mouth shut (an unusual thing though) n waited for the expected fun. The nurse took my form first n after the preliminary tests started the procedure. I could look frm the corner of my eye tht the man was disappointed coz I didn't wince even once. Then the nurse proceeded to do the same with him. After about a minute or so, his machine started beeping. The reason was tht his blood flow rate was very slow. So the nurse took out the needle frm his right hand n a new needle was inserted in his left. When the donation was over this dude had both his hands folded up frm his elbows. When the coffee was served he couldnt unfold his hands n was looking at me gulping down my cuppa. When I was leaving, his coffee was already cold n I couldnt stop myself frm saying "The coffee was nice. Sorry u couldnt enjoy it ;)" Gosh I m so mean... but thts me. Anyways, I appeal u all to donate blood regularly. Or atleast do it during emergencies like I do.

14 comments:

Ajay Sonawane said...

Great, Everyone including me need to teach from you !

Devilish Angel said...

Good post...

cherubic_chipmunk said...

wow man-tht was cool 2 read and tht too wid a msg-rest assurd i'll start donating blood frm now...hey btw i came across ur blogs by hittin' the keyword abhimaan-nice movie-:)...ciao

cherubic_chipmunk said...

whoops sory man-found u by clickin' where eagles dare-maclean's my fav...

~*. D E E P A .* ~ said...

u could get anemic , u know ... donating so many times

~*. D E E P A .* ~ said...

poor guy !!!!!! serves him right ?????

AnonymousBlogger said...

Sudeep, be honest. Does it hurt? I've never given blood, and if it's anything like giving a blood sample, I don't know if I could handle a needle in my arm for all that time(half an hour?).

harsh said...

I too haven't donated blood ever, even the view of the big needle scares the hell out of me...but I want to start donating soon..
give the details please.. as wheather it hurts a lot, or does it make u aenemic and stuff..

sudeep ur going great!!

Shantanu said...

I have also been a donor for quite sometime now but the spirit with which we donate the blood is not reciprocated by the blood banks. Recently there was news in the papers that due to negligence of a blood bank in Mumbai, blood got contaminated and they had to throw away around 100 bottles. They should act more responsibly when they store blood.

Suraj said...

Hey I always missed missed the blood donation camps in our college.. either was not there or was bored :-(
Hope I'll donate it regularly once I shift back to Pune

Anonymous said...

@Ajay: :)

@Vanathi: thnx..

@CC: Welcome.. i have read only Where Eagles dare till now frm Mclean

Anonymous said...

@Deepa: I donated 10 times not in 10 days but over past 3 years.. :)

@AB: The first time it sends shivers down ur spine but nothing afterwards... n the whole process lasts for about 7-10 min... not 1/2 hr.

@Ganga: Good to read tht

Anonymous said...

@Harsh: U have to give only 350 ml blood.... so dont worry of getting anaemic or stuff like tht. It is good to give out blood as our body creates new blood within 24 hrs. otherwise the same blood is purified lifelong. (i hope so i m right) If u want to give blood or enroll urself go to the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital (near Nal Stop) n contact Anand Kulkarni frm Blood bank. He is my frnd.. so he can contact u when u r needed

Anonymous said...

@Shantanu: Welcome.. tht is the reason i prefer blood banks of hospitals rather than the blood banks which function on their own.

@Suraj: Good to see ur spirit.. but i also remember the way u almost fainted when we saw blood when Pankaj's finger cut off in the lathe exam.. remember it.. lol