A voluntary blood donation camp open to healthy adults between 18 and 65. Donated units support emergency surgery, road-accident trauma, obstetric haemorrhage, anaemia in pregnancy and treatment for patients with thalassaemia.
Trauma from road accidents, obstetric bleeding and severe anaemia are the three situations in which a district hospital's blood supply is tested hardest, and all three arrive without warning. A camp held in calm conditions is what makes blood available at three in the morning when it is needed.
Donation takes a short time and involves a health check, a haemoglobin test and screening questions before the unit is collected. Donors are asked to eat a normal meal beforehand, to be adequately hydrated, and to avoid donating if they have had a fever in the previous week or are on certain medicines.
Common concerns are addressed at the camp: donating blood does not cause weakness, does not reduce immunity, and does not affect the ability to do a full day of physical work afterwards. The body replaces the donated volume within a short period, and a healthy adult can donate again after the standard interval.
Donors are also given the opportunity to have their blood group recorded and to register their willingness to be contacted in an emergency, which matters most for the rarer groups.
Organisations, colleges and community groups wishing to host or join a camp can get in touch through /contact-us.