Blogs

Recently a donor shared feedback about some discomfort following a blood donation in one of the camps. Following the routine process, the donor was counselled, reassured and informed that the medical officer of the concerned blood bank will give him/her a call. The contact was passed on to the medical officer. We believed that the matter was taken care and as a routine process we would have called the donor a day or two later just to be sure that he is doing well.

Thalassemia this word is as common as cancer, we understand the pain and the emotions behind cancer, the fear of losing our loved ones almost never leaves our eyes, no stone is left unturned to steer them from death to life, and when you lay your head against their chest and hear the heart beat rhythmically a tear escapes the eyes thanking the wonderful inventions of science. How many of us think about thalassemia in the same way?

Sankalp started 10 years back with the intent to help people who are facing difficulty arranging for blood in emergencies. That responsibility now rests with the emergency team of the organisation. In those days the challenge was to organise for blood for the patients who were sent out of the blood banks to look for donors. Replacement requests, negative group requests and seasonal shortages kept us busy. Those were the days when an AB-ve request was considered a challenge.  Then came the era of single donor platelets.

M.S. Subbulakshmi has inspired many generations, through her divine voice and her rare qualities of humility, compassion discipline and principles of conduct. Her quest for perfection and sincerity of effort were not reserved for the stage. Her own simple lifestyle and donation of most of her earnings to charity were the testament to the person she was.

How does it feel if half of the buses and trains supposed to be running are canceled at random? And how long will we stand such disruption? At most a day or two, maybe. Well, a similar disruption in the daily lives of children has been happening quietly for years. About half of the time, there is no teaching going on in government primary schools, while these voiceless students suffer.

The Jatropha Curcas, also known as 'danti', is a strange species of flora. It's leafy and green - sometimes it takes the form of a shrub, but it can also become a tree up to six meters tall. It came from the tropics of Central America and can thrive in semi-arid climates with low-nutrient soil. Jatropha plants bear a poisonous little fruit - inside each are several black seeds.