Ahead of National Voluntary Blood Donation Day, which falls on October 1, let us meet some of the inimitable volunteers
The birth of an initiative
For K. Panayappan, his 18th birthday is memorable because he donated blood for the first time, and he was accompanied by his father. Panyappan has since inspired many others to donate blood.
“My father used to donate blood once in two years I would accompany him as a child. I would watch his vein being pierced. After the blood donation, he would be given a juice pack. And I would wait to grab it from him. When I reached the age that would allow me to donate blood, my father suggested that I celebrate the birthday by donating blood and that is how it all started,” says Panayappan.
The next year, 2012, on his birthday – July 21 — Panayappan went to Lions Blood Bank, five members of his family in tow.
In 2013, when Panayappan was a…