Jammu Kashmir is lucky to have some saviour female blood donors who have set a glaring example of social service and broken barriers as they stand ready to donate blood for the needy and persuade others to be part of the cause.
The ongoing tension in Kashmir has hardly left anyone unaffected but these gutsy donors have proved their determination by saving many lives voluntarily.
Nasreena of Tantraypora village in Magam area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district is a young female blood donor of Kashmir.
The 24-year-old donated first time when she was 19 and set an example by becoming the only female donor in her area.
Daughter of a labourer, she has donated 12 pints and travelled most of the times to Srinagar hospitals including Lalla Ded (LD) for helping those in need.
“There is a hospital at Magam. I have given them my phone number and asked them to call if someone needs blood,” she says.
Besides being a blood donor, she is an active campaigner for the cause as well.
“I ask everyone to donate blood. There is nothing wrong in it. There is still a social stigma about it when it comes to females,” she says.
Optimistic Nasreena is satisfied being part of the cause.
“If I save a life donating one pint, it gives me pleasure. I want to donate till my last breath,” she says.
The dearth of blood is often felt in places like Kashmir where even the blood banks run dry at times due to heavy casualties.
Jameela Bano, 45, of Dab village of Ganderbal district is another blood donor who has donated 10 pints in the past 18 years.
She is married and has two children.
“My in-laws support me for this. I started donating blood after giving birth to my children. I do it for the sake of humanity,” she says.
Jameela recalls the first time she donated blood at a donation camp in Bandipora, north of Srinagar, way back in 2000.
“I am always ready. There is no issue if I have to leave home in the evening for it. If my blood saves a precious life, it is gratifying,” she says.
In J&K, females unusually do not donate blood for psychological, cultural and social reasons.
However, the predominant one seems fear of collection process.
“We don’t have a culture of donating blood here. If one donates, many people say why I did it but others appreciate it,” Jameela says.
During 2014-15, a study ‘Gender Differences in Blood Donation’ conducted at Government Medical College, Srinagar in its Haematology and Transfusion Medicine department was carried among blood donors of Jammu Kashmir which found that females contribute only 4.44 percent of blood while blood donation by males was 95.56 percent.
“It was also found that blood group B was more common among males. Among women, female blood group O was predominant,” says the study conducted by three postgraduate scholars.
Presently, 20 female donors in Jammu Kashmir are registered under Ahli Bayat Charitable Trust, a local trust through which they donate blood.
“They donate blood once or twice a year,” said Shabir Khan, a management member of the charitable trust.
Khan is a well-known donor who donated 157 pints in past.
He is known as the “blood man of Kashmir” who heads 2100 volunteer donors across the State.
In Jammu Kashmir, there are 150 to 200 female volunteers registered with Indian Red Cross Society, a voluntary humanitarian organisation to protect human life.
“We don’t have our own blood bank here. We store blood in four major hospitals (SKIMS Soura, GB Pant, LD and SMHS) and it is given to needy on requisition,” says a Red Cross official at its Srinagar office.
The safest donors are found among people who donate blood voluntarily.
Dr Javaid Iqbal Khan, a hematologist at LD Hospital says when they require blood during emergencies, they inform public and volunteer donors directly.
“Unmarried females should prefer to donate blood more than those who are married. If a married woman donates blood, there are chances of anti-bodies and chances of a reaction are more,” he says.
A female can donate blood three times a year, while a male can donate four times and these norms vary from country to country.
“Females suffer physiological blood loss during periods. They have iron deficiency. Their hemoglobin should be 12.5 gm and after that they can donate,” he says.
Khan says the blood regenerates among those who donate blood.
“Donors need to eat iron-rich diet. They should also eat fruits, meat and vegetables,” he says.
Experts say any person below 18 years cannot donate blood as it is considered a crime.
