For Dr Abhishek Verma, a Ranchi-based pathologist, it was a birthday celebration of a never-before kind.

A blood donation camp was organised at his Ashok Nagar laboratory on his 37th birthday on Thursday when he and his friends donated 12 units of blood in about an hour for children suffering from thalassemia.

“It’s really a pleasure to do such a thing for those children who need blood transfusion regularly,” the doctor said, adding he was glad that his friends gave this “precious gift” that made his birthday a happier occasion. It may not be a big donation in terms of quantity but that also matters a lot for those thalassemia children, the doctor further said.

Some donors and members of the medical team near the blood collection and transportation van in Ranchi on Thursday. Telegraph picture

“Abhishek’s birthday is not the only occasion, such camps were organised on birthdays of at least 150 more people in the past one year and many more are lined up,” said Atul Gera, founder of Life Savers, a voluntary organisation that organises such blood donation camps regularly for thalassemia children receiving regular transfusions at Thalassemia Day Care Centre at Ranchi Sadar Hospital.

“The next such camp will be organised at Namkum on the occasion of birthday of Kunal Sharma on November 2 and another on November 4,” Gera said, adding there will be around 15 such birthday special camps in November.

“That will be my 25th birthday and I have invited my friends and neighbours to donate blood for thalassemia children on that day,” informed Kunal who is pursuing a management programme at the local Xavier Institute of Social Service.

The Life Savers contact the local authorities who sends a blood collection cum transportation van and a medical team at the venues of such camps. “I have over 5,000 Facebook friends and I get advance alert about their birthdays,” Gera said, adding he contact those who are in Ranchi for organising blood donation camps on their birthdays.

Besides birthdays, they also organise blood donation camps with help from members of some organisations and even residents of some apartment buildings, Gera further informed, adding they already have 10 such camps lined up till November 13 and more were expected. They collect about 20-25 units of blood from small camps and more at big ones, he further said, adding such an inflow of donated blood helps keep the transfusion process of thalassemia children go on uninterrupted.

“On an average about 20 such children come to the Thalassemia Day Care Centre everyday for receiving blood transfusion,” Gera informed, adding blood collection was disturbed during the pandemic but they still tried to maintain inflow of donated blood by organising such camps.

“We can now manage to collect about 60 per cent of monthly retirement for transfusion of thalassemia children who come to the Day Care Centre at Ranchi Sadar Hospital,” he informed.