Rotary Clubs, Indians donate blood to mark Gandhi’s 150th birthday

The India High Commission in partnership with Rotary Club of Lagos Palmgrove Estate, Rotary Club of Lagos Island, Indian Cultural Association, Indian Professionals Forum, and the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Committee has organized a blood donation camp, which held in the premises of the India High Commission in Lagos to mark Nigeria 59th Independence anniversary.

The blood donation camp set a target of 150 pints of blood to commemorate 150 years of the birth of the father of Indian nation, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi or Bapu.

Past President, Rotary Club of Lagos Palmgrove Estate, PAG Ramesh Biswal, said the camp was also to create awareness of blood donation in Nigeria, which according to him had not been embraced by many Nigerians. He noted that as president of the club in 2014, he initiated the blood donation camp and has ensured the exercise has been sustained because of the dearth of blood in blood bank due to Nigerians’ cold attitude towards the donation.

“We donated more than 2,000 pints of blood last year and we are targeting about 3,000 this year. We will not relent in creating awareness among Nigerians,” he said.

President, Indian Cultural Association, Chief Sanjay Jain, the umbrella body of Indians in the country, who disclosed that the association has been in existence for about 60 years, described Gandhi as a leader known for non-violence who pursued his cause until he got independence for India with peace, adding that he was a leader whose attribute of non-violence should be imbibed.

He called on Nigerians to know that blood donation is not harmful and that the new blood that would be generated within a short time goes further to help the body.