Friends2support listed with:

1. Limca Book of Records
2. India Book of Records
3. Indian Book of Records
4. Assist World Records

But we will not celebrate this. We will celebrate only when blood reaches all needy Indians and after seeing millions of smiles.

Need for reliable registry of blood donors

A promotional video was launched by www.friends2support.org

Assistant Director of Drug Control Administration Ravi Udaya Bhaskar handing over a promotional video CD on voluntary blood donation to former Vice-Chancellor of Acharya Nagarjuna University V. Balamohandas in Visakhapatnam on Monday.

VISAKHAPATNAM: A reliable registry of voluntary blood donors is the need of the hour, which ensures pumping in of safe blood into the national pool of blood banks that is starved of unpaid donors.

Formally launching a promotional video CD of www.friends2support.org, at the VJF Press Club here on the occasion of World Blood Donors' Day, Assistant Director Drug Administration Ravi Udaya Bhaskar said that World Health Organisation had given the slogan ‘New Blood for the World' for this year's celebration, which was getting fulfilled through such registries.

Giving a call to various groups of employees and persons attached to medical fraternity and students to support the cause being espoused by the Friends To Support Organisation, he opined that unless large number of youth from the urban centres came forward to donate blood frequently, the large gap between need and supply could not be bridged. Currently only 30 to 40 per cent of the need was being met nationally, he observed.

Active support

Expressing concern over lack of zeal among some people and members of some NGOs in physically donating blood, while indulging in acquiring huge media publicity, he promised to actively support such awareness efforts to bring in large number of new donors.

Highlighting the need for donating blood on a regular basis, former Vice-Chancellor of Acharya Nagarjuna University V. Balamohandas reminded the gathering of a National record the university had set up by physically donating 2,041 units on a single day on the campus. Appreciating the appeal for helping fellow human beings in the 3-minute video `Donate Blood Save Life', he said one unit of blood these days was being segregated into components and saving three lives.

He recounted his association with the F2S since 2006 in Guntur, where this national initiative had begun.

Andhra Pradesh Law University Registrar A. Subrahmanyam recounted how an employee in their university had benefited from the database of the website in getting a donor of a rare blood group in Visakhapatnam a couple of months ago. The www.friends2support.org volunteers Harish, Deepak and others distributed `Blood Security-cum-Identity card' after the video was screened.

Lost Chance of International Honour

Loses chance to receive UN honour, thanks to his name

Special Correspondent

---

Immigration officials at Delhi ‘botch’ up Shaik Khasim Shareef’s trip to Mexico to receive the award

---

GUNTUR: His name kept him away from an international honour -- the only Indian youth entry to win an award at the United Nations Millennium Goals from among 600 participants, thanks to the immigration officials who detained him in New Delhi.

Narsaraopet-based Friends To Support Organisation was chosen by the United Nations for an international honour -- World Youth Summit Award Runner-up in ‘Fight Hunger, Poverty and Disease’ category to receive the award at Monterry in Mexico between September 2 and 5.

On receiving communication from the hosts, founder of the organisation Shaik Khasim Shareef, working as web designer in Hyderabad, got the Mexican visa and boarded an Air India flight at Hyderabad for Mexico via New Delhi after proper immigration check at 8.10 p.m. on August 31.

A change of flight was needed at New Delhi as direct flights were not available to Mexico.

At New Delhi, he was cleared at the Immigration check and luggage put on board the flight scheduled to leave for Mexico via Chicago at 12.05 a.m. on September 1.

But just before boarding the plane some officials stopped him for a check allegedly going by his name.

After checking his papers, he was denied entry into the plane saying he needed a transit visa of the U.S. as the plane touched Chicago airport though he would continue in the same aircraft.

This came as a surprise to him as the hosts had clearly communicated to him that no transit visa was needed.

He had even enquired at the Mexican Consulate at New Delhi while getting his visa to confirm that he did not need a U.S. transit visa.

To petition President

“The behaviour of the airline staff towards me was only due to my name. They did not allow me to go into airport and put me on a Hyderabad flight only after 24 hours of waiting in the lounge without my passport,” Mr. Shareef told The Hindu.

“I propose to represent this matter to the President of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation and the top officials of the airlines,” he added.

Detained

Mr. Shareef said he was detained despite his plea to verify his identity from employers/host organisers and about the Friends To Support Organisation running www.friends2support.org website for providing contact information of voluntary blood donors on the Internet.

He was escorted to the luggage area of the aircraft by four gun-toting security officials to identify his luggage which was deplaned.

The flight got delayed by one hour and left for Chicago without Mr. Shareef.

When contacted the organisers apologised for the incident, but could not do anything.

A chance to let genuine voice be heard by people from all over the world on voluntary blood donation awareness using Internet, was lost.

What do U think ..?

Dear friends . ......,
I am uday , 19, a third year b.tech student . As we flip through the history of friends2support , we can realize that we used to have a student branch for our organization , but it has been disintegrated. I firmly believe we need to have a student wing which should add a new dimension and bring in young blood into our organization.
As an initiation i would be happy to collect and unite all the students working for the organization already create a firm base. We can then also bring in our friends who are students in various institutes all across the nation and even abroad .
For e.g . I hail from guntur , but i have friends who are interested to join hands with such non-profit organizations as ours hailing from various places ranging from , hyderabad to dubai . Its only an idea but if everyone takes a step together , then we can realized a student branch pretty shortly .
I await suggestions from u all , friends .

..........UDAY

United Nations World Youth Summit Award for www.friends2support.org

http://www.wsis-award.org/index.wbp

Friends 2 Support is WSYA Runner-up 2009 and only winner from India in any category

Guntur-based Friends To Support Organisation (F2S) maintaining an online database of voluntary blood donors through the www.friends2support.org website, has received yet another United Nations award for its work on improving the awareness on health issues in the society using Internet. This award will be presented to Mr. Sk.K. Shareef, one of the founders of the organisation at Monterrey, in Mexico during the United Nations Global Forum on ICT and Development and WSA Winners Celebrations from September 2 to 4, 2009.

The F2S has been adjudged runner-up in Category 1: Fight Hunger, Poverty & Disease! and is the only Indian entry to win an award this year from among 600 entries screened by the 20-member United Nations awards committee. The winners' list is available on http://www.wsis-award.org/index.wbp , website. The organisers have invited Mr. Shareef to Mexico at their expense to receive the award and be part of their celebrations.

The www.friends2support.org had won the United Nations Development Project and Department of Information Technology-sponsored `Manthan Award - 2007' a National Award for using digital information for development of society. We were also shortlisted among the top 12 entrants for the NASSCOM Award the second annual flagship event of NASSCOM Foundation held on 15 February 2008 at Hotel Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. The NASSCOM Foundation Forum was held in conjunction with the NASSCOM Leadership Forum aiming to provide a platform for the key innovators and leaders who had impacted social development in the country.  

What is this WSYA Award?: Young People act on United Nations Millennium Goals using Internet Content. The World Summit Youth Award (WSYA) is the global contest for online or mobile initiatives to raise awareness and help resolve the most pressing global issues. The World Summit Youth Award showcases the project as one by young developers and serves as a platform for people from all UN member states to work together on the efforts of reaching the Millennium Development Goals!

The rewards are global recognition within the United Nations, invitations to the WSYA Winners events in Mexico and networking contacts on a global scale. Those who rely on the web for creating culture, overcoming gender inequality, lack of education and access to clean water or to address hunger, poverty, disease and environmental degradation, were asked to take part in this contest.

The winners will showcase their projects to government and business leaders, representatives of civil society and the international community. All the 612 projects were evaluated in a three-round judging process by an international jury of 20 experts in the fields of youth engagement, new media and social entrepreneurship. 

The Winners were:

Category 1: FIGHT HUNGER, POVERTY & DISEASE!

• - "Lil' MDGs: Kids making Changes" by Dylan Mahalingam (13) and Pooja Dharan (11), USA
• - "Remote Patient Monitoring System" by Tanwani Ajay Kumar (22), Pakistan
• - "Mobile Doctor" by Andreas Jakl (27), Austria

 Also among the Top 5 are the Runner-Ups...

- "mPedigree" by Ashifi Gogo (28), Ghana

- "Friendstosupport Organisation" by Shaik Shareef (28), India

"Runner-up means that we determine your project as another outstanding entry in the WSYA 2009 and would therefore like to give you the opportunity to take part in the WSYA Events in Monterey, Mexico from September 2 to 4, 2009," said the organisers.

Together with the local host organisation, Indigo Brainmedia, we are organizing a series of interesting workshops, conferences and networking events, where you will have a chance to showcase your project, meet other WSYA participants as well as some of the jurors, and participate in the sessions of the WSA Winners Conference as well as the UN GAID Global Forum.

Winners in Other categories:

Category 2: EDUCATION FOR ALL!

• - "Everything on HIV and AIDS in Iran" by Morteza Moshir Sinaei (23), Iran
• - "Alternatives: Findin New Possibilities for Youth" by Sanjeev Raj Neupane (25), Nepal
• - "Voices of Africa for Sustainable Development" by Crystal Kigoni (30), Kenya

The Runner-Ups in this category are...

- "Youthinfo" by Antoaneta Ivanova (30), Macedonia

- "Shilpa Sayura Project" by Dhanajaya Subash (26), Sri Lanka

Category 3: POWER 2 WOMEN!

• - "Dokhtiran: e-Magazine on Women's Rights" by Gholamzadeh Hamid Reza (27), Iran
• - "The Sisters 4 Peace Network" by Sejal Hathi (17), USA
• - "Empower Women and Meet Millennium Challenges" by George Onyango (29), Kenya

The Power 2 Women Runner-Up is...

- "Yemeni Feminist Activists" by Amal Al-Ashtal (23), Yemen

Category 4: CREATE YOUR CULTURE!

• - "Roots & Routes TV" by Aileen Wessely (22), Germany
• - "Savvy Chavvy" by Christy McAleese (26), Great Britain
• - "The Extraordinaries" by Jacob Colker (25), USA

Another three Runner-Ups (equaly graded) are...

- "Strengthening Networks in Turkey :Young Human Network" by Basak Saral (28), Turkey

- "Youth Culture Portal HC.LV" by Deniss Fedotovs (30), Latvia

- "Facebook Application 'Intercultural'"  by Stephan Hamberger (21), Austria

Category 5: GO GREEN!

• - "Sewer Tourism" by Andrew Mutua (19), Kenya
• - "Greenlighted" by Vladimir Dubovskiy (22), USA
• - "Guardian of Eden" by Ricardo Quirante Martinez (21), Netherlands

The three Runner-Ups (equaly graded) in this category are...

 - "Effects of Climate Change on the Environment" by Abe Fergusson (18), Trinidad & Tobago

- "MRP Green Project" by Jessie James Marcellones (22), Philippines

- "Green Bulgaria" by Julian Kuntorov (14), Bulgaria

Team Friends To Support

Good team work, active public participation has blessed the organisation.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cycle Rally by School students in Guntur

Thirty two students of Sri Venkateswara Bala Kuteer took out a 12 k.m. Cycle Rally on Guntur main roads on Thursday evening starting from Syamala Nagar Second Lane at 4.30 p.m.

The school students --17 girls and 15 boys -- carried flags of www.friends2support.org and distributed pamphlets in Telugu and English requesting the people enroute to register themselves on the website so that they can donate to any one who needed blood in emergencies. They shouted slogans `Donate Blood Save Lives’; `Raktha Daanam Cheyyandi - Moodu Jeevithalunu rakshinchandi’.

Students well-wisher and a mathematics teacher Swarna Kumar flagged off the rally from Syamalanagar and the students returned to the same spot at 6.30 p.m. Making stops at Collectorate Junction, Brodipet 14/4 junction, Sankar Vilas Junction, Lakshmipuram Mother Teresa Statue junction and a NTR Stadium in Brundavan Gardens before winding their way back to Syamalanagar via Gujjannagundla.

The students said their final examinations were over, so they did not want to waste their time by just going round without purpose and took up this cause to spread awareness among people on need for voluntary blood donation. Students led by Saketh, Chaitra, Rachana, Abhishek, and others began the cycle journey from Pattabhipuram Rythu Bazar on the Ring Road, came into Brodipet 14th Lane and pedaled their way upto Sankar Vilas Junction and stopped at a couple of places to distribute pamphlets to bystanders.

Scarcity of voluntary blood donors is a common phenomenon in India with someone requiring blood every two seconds.

Spreading awareness on need for donating blood voluntarily and to have a comprehensive `Registry’ of Blood Donors is of prime importance today, said the friends2support volunteers.

Bike Rally at Hyderabad - 21st March 2009

Friends To Support Organisation

Friends To Support Organisation - Our friendship is 3 years old
www.friends2support.org
-- A people's movement.

Come Join in the Cause to universalize FREE Blood Donors' Information

Launch of All-India F2S Bike Rally-2009
Somajiguda Press Club, Hyderabad, Saturday, March 21, 2009

Scarcity of voluntary blood donors is a common phenomenon in India with someone requiring blood every two seconds. Spreading awareness on need for donating blood voluntarily and to have a comprehensive `Registry' of Blood Donors is of prime importance today.

Secrecy with regard to contact information of Voluntary Blood Donors is doing a disservice to the humanity. To overcome this lacuna, we friends began this journey from Narsaraopet in Guntur district on November 14, 2005, by creating a website www.friends2support.org with a countrywide voluntary donors' search facility.

To list out names, contact information of willing donors in all 17 blood groups (including sub-groups) State-District and City wise, we organised several awareness programmes in various cities and towns of India with F2S volunteers actively campaigning. A journey with a motley crowd of 200 on the day of launch, we are more than 50,000 friends spread all over country ready to donate blood anytime/anywhere (in authorised blood banks only) during an emergency or a scheduled operation. Reliable information is our motto.

We have chosen to launch this all-India Bike Rally-2009 in Hyderabad is known for its spirit to help and large number of enthusiastic youth ready to take the plunge when called upon. To take this movement to every nook and corner of OUR country about 50 youth embarked on a Bike Rally on Saturday, March 21, carrying the flags and pamphlets of www.friends2support.org to make people understand utility of this `Free Information Service'.

Beginning their journey at Somajiguda Press Club, they fanned out into the colonies and busy junctions to spread the awareness on voluntary blood donation. This movement will be replicated in other parts of the country also in a phased manner with week-ends used for this purpose. Youth will begin their journey on Saturday mornings from heart of a major city and go to a nearby district headquarters or town to spread the message there and return to starting point on Sunday evenings, as part of their social commitment.

Guntur 10K Walk was the first major awareness programme organised in Guntur city on November 25, 2006, followed by a Signature Campaign launched by Women's Cricket Celebrity Mitali Raj at Somajiguda Press Club in Hyderabad on May 26, 2007. Same year in another 10K Walk was organised in Vijayawada on August 15, 2007. Bangalore volunteer group organised a programme at one of the major exhibitions by setting up a stall.

A documentary film `Pranadatha' in English and Telugu was produced in Guntur and put on the YouTube for everyone to understand the way in which the website could be used. A mega release function with live coverage from Radio and TV channels gave a boost. A Toll-free Telephonic Helpline 1051 was set up in Andhra Pradesh for two years and we are in the process of setting up an All-India telephonic helpline and Service on SMS platform very soon.

Indian Hockey Team Captain Mukesh Kumar and some film personalities were part of a 5K Walk on Necklace Road on November 11, 2007, in Hyderabad. We completed 3 years on November 14, 2008 and as part of that organised essay, elocution and painting competitions for college students on Acharya Nagarjuna University campus. Several awareness programmes for MBA, Pharmacy and Engineering students were organised on college campuses with active participation of students from East, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Khammam, Prakasam and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh.

Pune volunteers held a candle-light campaign and Creation of Friedns To Support banner on a Football ground with Rangoli. Special Cards were designed to help people maintain a personal record of their blood group and contact information of their friends/relative with same blood group on the reverse side. Come Let us Register on www.friends2support.org and help save three lives by donating once.

All major blood banks in the country today use www.friends2support.org to contact voluntary donors. As per the feedback we have received so far, 20,000 donations have been made by 50,000 registered donors saving that many lives.

Team Friends To Support Organisation


Sk. Shareef

Write up on Friends2Support

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Blood donors from various parts of India in one database - friends2support.org

Blood is the need of the hour for many persons most of the times due to various reasons. But can everyone afford to buy it from blood banks when it is required on a regular basis ?

Well I believe its not possible. As a human being we believe in helping others with the best possible way we can. Donating blood is one such social activity if we can afford to do it. Any social cause which is meant for the welfare of the society we live in should be wholeheartedly supported. I came across this website which contains the database of interested donors who volunteer to donate blood http://www.friendstosupport.org/

This database contains the list of people who have volunteered to donate blood anytime and can be contacted directly on their phone with a simple search in this website.

Lets find it out with Ramesh Susarla the chief Advisor and founder of this website regarding what motivated him and what it take to maintain this database which is meant for all our needs.

1. What inspired you to start this social cause
Ramesh:Five students of Narsaraopet Engineering College began this website when they got number of calls from people for blood donation frequently. They used to maintain a list of their friends physically to provide information about voluntary donors. Later they thought they could build a website on which they were getting trained. I joined them three months later and my motivation was the suffering we had to undergo for arranging A - ve blood for my aunt at Hyderabad NIMS

She was down with lukemia and at the end she needed almost one unit every three days. I am myself A -ve and donated thrice to her. I used to send pager messages and ask people to contact me at my residence No. and then take them to the blood bank in NIMS during 1998-99.That give me a realistic picture of how grave the situation was. So I also decided to do some social work in this regard by spending some of my salary savings in this form.

2. Do you take any sponsorship ?
Ramesh: we do not take any advertisement or sponsorship from people for this activity

3. Does your group conduct any blood donation camps ?
Ramesh: We do not organise blood donation camps. We are against mega blood donation camps as they lead to wastage of a lot of blood.

4. How does the friendstosupport database work out for the needy?
Ramesh: Ours is only a blood donors information service or you can call it as a registry of Blood Donors all over India with every district and Assembly constituency wise. All the 17 blood groups including sub-groups are divided for the sake of voluntary donors contact information like normal address, e-mail address, contact phone Nos. age sex etc. Our database works as a catalyst between the needy and the search for a donor becomes very easy for the needy and we have created a platform for both of them to come together.

5. How do you spread the information about this database to the common man ?
Ramesh: we do not have any ground level organisation. But only volunteers like you who wish to spread the concept and help people get helped in case of need. we only organise awareness camps and programmes to help poeple know that such a facility is available and that they could register themselves as Voluntary donors to help others.

Recently we organised essay competition online and elocution competition for college students of Acharya Nagarjuna University and on December 1st 2008 we are organising one for all Pharmacy students.

6. How long has this journey been since you started this cause ?
Ramesh: We completed 3 years on November 14, 2008. We are also supporting six meritorious poor students in their studies with our own funds.

7.How do you raise funds for maintaining this database ?
Ramesh: We pool up money from among the core group of seven members from our own salary savings. we do not take up any fund-raising exercise - that is our first principle.

8. Who maintains website and organizes events ?
Ramesh: Web hosting, designing is done by our own members who are good at it and designing the events and organizing them is done by me. I also keep writing pamphlets or other literature for spreading awareness. We also got National Award "Manthan Award' for best Website using digital information for development of society from Department of Information Technology Government of India and UNDP During November 2007.

We have volunteer groups in Pune, Bangalore, Dlehi and Chennai who also keep organizing some program or other even at Hyderabad.

9. Do you guys work full time for this or its time dedicated after the individual professions ?
Ramesh: Yes, it is done during our spare time. None of us work full time for this nor do we have any employee for this. We believe in taking all people along with us and they also should get a feeling that it is theirs (F2S) and we do not monopolize on it, but just keep a track of goings on so that it does not wayward or gets misused. Open-end and free information on Blood Donors for entire India is our dream and we desire to end the monopoly of some blood banks or hospital on information of blood donors.

10.What is the average number of people/requests you get through this website for blood ?
Ramesh: We have a database of 60,000 voluntary donors on website and we do not get requests as the needy contacts the donor directly - we are only facilitators and none contacts us in any manner except those who know us personally for a personal favour and we do not take up the service of arranging blood donors for needy it is upto them to contact the donors.

We run a toll-free Telephonic helpline at Guntur 0863-2351725 which is toll-free in AP and at Regular charges from elsewhere in the country.

11. Dont you feel that only maintaining website puts restriction in spreading this info of database as the percentage of people who have access to internet is less ?
Ramesh: This is for those who do not have access to internet at remote places
but all do not need acceess to internet if the hospitals and any relative of the needy or the nursing homes or blood banks where the needy approach as the first choice. If these people have access or can just log into it from a public net cafe, which are available even at a remote village,they can help them like his family circle, immediate bosom friends circle.

They are the people who usually contact us for any kind of help and even we can help them if they are within our reach. So it is the willingness to help people that is more important and not forwarding mails and SMS seeking blood immediately or informing about a need in some corner of the country.I personally encountered some of these where when I contacted the need was over more than six months ago or a minimum of a week.

Well guys we should truly appreciate the efforts of Mr. Ramesh and his team. Lets join our hands in spreading the word and also by directly or indirectly helping the others.

I would say : What can happen to others can happen to you also. Help others and get helped.

For more Information on this database click here
You can also find the FAQ's about this blood donors database in the below link
http://www.friendstosupport.org/inner/news/faqs.aspx

Blood Components The Right Choice

Blood Components: The Right Choice

1. Introduction
2. What is better whole blood or components?
3. Why are blood components being used?
4. Why components therapy is better?
5. What is to be done?
6. Various Blood Components
7. Sources

Introduction

Today if you go to a modern blood bank and ask for blood, you are very likely to be asked a question –"Which Component?" Gone are the day when the prescribed type of transfusion was whole blood. Today blood from the donor is separated into various different types of cells that it is constituted of and these are called blood components. What is better whole blood or components? Each one of us has 60-80 ml blood per kg body weight in our body. Of this 16 ml is maintained as reserve. When a person comes to donate blood, the internationally prescribed standards say that the person may donate 8ml per kg body weight of blood. Since blood bags are available in only 350ml and 450 ml, so a person above the weight of 45 is eligible to donate 350 ml of blood and the person above 55 kg is eligible to donate 450 ml.The question is what is the real difference between donating 350 ml and 450 ml?The answer is simple. It is the difference between saving one and saving up to 3 lives. When you donate 450 ml of blood, the blood is separated into its constituents. One unit is used to prepare red blood cells, platelet concentrate and plasma each of which can be given to three different patients and therefore one unit of blood when separated into component can save 3 lives.

Why are blood components being used?

Blood is a complex body fluid that has multiple roles to play within our body. Following are some of the important functions of blood.# Supply of oxygen to tissues (bound to hemoglobin which is carried in red cells) # Supply of nutrients such as glucose, amino acids and fatty acids (dissolved in the blood or bound to plasma proteins) # Removal of waste such as carbon dioxide, urea and lactic acid # Immunological functions, including circulation of white cells, and detection of foreign material by antibodies # Coagulation, which is one part of the body's self-repair mechanism # Messenger functions, including the transport of hormones and the signaling of tissue damageThere are specific cells to perform each of these tasks in the blood. When the world did not have the correct understanding on how to prepare blood components, the shortage of any of the blood cells was treated by transfusing whole blood from the donor. This meant that the patient received a host of unwanted cells from someone else just to cater to the shortage of a specific cell. As transfusion medicine evolved, the blood banks learnt how to separate components and now the patient is given only the blood cells that are in shortage in his/her body.An important thing that we must understand is that every time a person is transfused blood, it causes reactions within the donor's body. This is because some cells (white blood cells) are very specific to a patient. They are never required to be transfused into the patient but they invariably find their way into the patient's body in whole blood. These cells may cause an immunological assault on the recipient's body.When we use blood components, only the required cells are transfused leading to the suppression of un-necessary reactions and problems for the patient.

Why components therapy is better?

Various reason as quoted by WHO are:- • the recipient can be treated with only those blood components that are lacking, reducing the occurrence of adverse transfusion reactions; • more than one patient can be treated with blood components derived from one donation; • therapeutic support for patients with special transfusion requirements can be provided, for example, plasma that often is not directly needed for transfusion can be used manufacturing of Factor VIII concentrate for Haemophilia A patients; • Improved quality and functional capacity of each component when varied storage conditions and shelf lives were applied. It has also been observed that infants treated with reconstituted blood (mixture of separated blood components) instead of whole blood recover faster.(See http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Reconstituted-Blood-Better-For-Young-Hearts-3005-1/)

Apart from all these facts National Blood Policy of India clearly states that component therapy should be facilitated and encouraged. Plasma fractionation is also included in the strategy plan of NBP.(http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/UNPAN009847.pdf) "Availability of blood components shall be ensured through the network of regional centres, satellite centres and other blood centres by creating adequate number of blood component separation units." "Appropriate steps shall be taken to increase the availability of plasma fractions as per the need of the country through expanding the capacity of existing centre and establishing new centres in the country."Component therapy is followed in several other countries satisfying the increasing need of blood to great extent. Very few Blood banks in India have component separation facility. Need of the hour is to adopt this procedure and have 100% component separation.

What is to be done?

Individual donor to blood bank and the government, it is the effort of all which will bring a change in the prevailing practice of using whole blood to component therapy.A donor who is eligible to donate 450ml of blood should never go for 350ml as it doesn't make any difference. The donors must insist on donating components of eligible by making sure that the blood bank uses triple bags of blood for collection. Blood bank should encourage eligible donors to donate 450ml of blood. Also they should make sure that such units are separated into components and not used as whole blood. Infrastructure has to be developed and necessary equipments should be upgraded in the blood banks so that not even a single unit is under utilized by not separating into components. Blood banks should take the initiative to educate and explain to doctors the importance and necessity of component therapy.Policies and strict guidelines have to be enforced by the government so those blood banks optimize the available blood units.

Various Blood Components

Packed CellsRBCs or Red Blood Cells carry hemoglobin and thereby help in the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from the cells respectively is known as Packed Cells. Life - a unit of packed cells has a life of 20-40 days depending on the preserving conditions. Usage - In case of anemia, Blood loss due to bleeding PlateletsThese are the cells responsible for the clotting of blood. Life - 5-6 days Usage - Low platelets count, Clotting disorders, Dengue fever, Burn cases etc Fresh Frozen PlasmaThe fluid portion of the blood containing the essential proteins like (albumins, globulins etc), when frozen and preserved is called as Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP) Life - More than a year Usage - clotting disorder Plasma derivativesProteins present in the plasma can be further separated to prepare protein concentrates using a process called fractionation. Few of the useful plasma proteins are factor VII concentrate, Factor VIII concentrate etcUsage - Factor VII and VIII helps in treatment of hemophiliac patients, replacement of knee after knee injury, for treatment of von Willebrand's diseaseetc.

Sources

http://www.aabb.org/Content/About_Blood/Facts_About_Blood_and_Blood_Banking/fabloodwhole.htmhttp://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/UNPAN009847.pdfhttp://www.who.int/bloodsafety/testing_processing/components/en/http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Reconstituted-Blood-Better-For-Young-Hearts-3005-1/

Vijayawada 10 K Walk

Walk for a cause

VIJAYAWADA: Launching a massive campaign to encourage voluntary blood donation, members of the ‘Friends2support’ group participated in a 10K Walk in the city on Wednesday.
The group was launched by a few youngsters to maintain a directory of voluntary blood donors on the website www.friends2support.org, with their blood groups and addresses. The walk was aimed at enrolling more individuals as blood donors.

Mayor Mallika Begum inaugurated the walk at Dhanekula (Aahwanam) Kalyana Mandapam at Ashok Nagar on Mahatma Gandhi Road and walked till NTR Circle, Patamata. Several individuals of varied professional backgrounds participated in the walk, which proceeded touching Nirmala Convent, Ramesh Hospital, Sikhamani Centre, Veterinary Hospital and Benz Circle, before culminating at Krishnaveni Talent School. Sporting white-coloured T-shirts with slogans in favour of voluntary blood donation inscribed on them, participants of the walk attracted passers-by with their slogans.

College students joined the walk at NTR Circle and Ramesh Hospital. Launched by five IT professionals, the group already conducted a 10k Walk in Guntur in November, and since then been launching campaigns in different forms now and then. One could click the website to get the details of blood donors during any exigency. Those interested to donate their blood to the needy could register their details with the website.

The walk culminated at Krishnaveni Talent School near Benz Circle, where free blood grouping was done for the participants.

Vijayawada Campaign Photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/susarla13/VijayawadaSginatureCampagin

VIJAYAWADA: The ‘ www.friends2support.org’, an organisation and a website launched by a group of like-minded students and social activists, organised a signature campaign in support of blood donation here on Thursday as part of a State-wide exercise to rope in more number of voluntary blood donors. Scores of inspired students pursuing engineering and other courses in various institutions in the city enthusiastically appended their signatures on a huge banner displayed at Aahwanam Kalyana Mandapam at Kanuru, signalling their willingness to join the campaign.
Dignitaries who turned up on the occasion vowed their full support to the cause, while some advised the organisers to spread information on the safety aspect also. They cautioned the organisers that after visiting the website, some donors might respond directly to the pleas of individuals without going through authorised blood banks run by the likes of the Rotary and the Red Cross.
The website designed to provide “anywhere and anytime information” on blood donors kicked off the signature campaign with a view to enlisting a greater number of donors from the young generation and all sections of society. “Each one save one is our motto,” said J. Hemantha, a B.Tech final year student.
A yearning to save lives brought together Ms. Hemantha and scores of other engineering students in and around the city to become part of the activities of the new organisation that works mainly through its website.
Under its banner, the signature campaign was launched in Hyderabad in the presence of cricketer Mythali Raj. In Vijayawada, the event saw the presence of some notable faces of the city. “We are with you,” announced City Police Commissioner C.V. Anand when students asked him to say a few words about his impression of the campaign. Goaded further by students’ pleas, Mr. Anand wrote “VR with U” on the banner that brought cheer all around.
G.V. Rama Rao, secretary of the Rotary Red Cross Blood Bank at Gandhinagar, said that their support was provided by offering services in blood grouping of prospective donors.
He said it would be safe to donate blood through authorised blood banks, as they would have good facilities to test blood for Hepatitis B and other diseases.
Former MP Gadde Rammohan, MLC Ch. Vara Prasad and other dignitaries lauded the students’ efforts and pledged their support.
Mr. Prasad administered a ‘Seva Pratigna’ to students, calling upon them to show commitment and honesty in the activities of ‘friends2support’ organisation.

World Blood Donors' Day

The World Blood donation day June 14th.The World Blood donation day June 14th.The first blood transfusion was found in the year 1616 between dogs. But his finding was ignored. The Christian mission banned this till 1678. After 150 years A mother had blood transfusion for the first time in the year 1818.Dr. Karllmans performed the blood transfusion. His birthday falls on 14th June. A Chemist form Russell of Brazil found that the addition of sodium citrate to the blood can keep the blood intact and the Donor was not specially need at the time of blood transfusion. This helped preserve blood in the blood bank. The first blood bank began at Lelengrade in the year 1939 and R.H factors were also discovered. Mr. Mowrise Graze aged 78 years now has been donating blood since 1944 since 18 years of age. He has been donating blood till now at an interval of 56 days (Donated blood 350 times).We shall now continue to Save life and celebrate this day in remembrance of these Noble Hearts.

Vijayawada Signature Campaign

http://www.hindu.com/2007/07/11/stories/2007071159520300.htm

Signature campaignThe Friends2support, an organisation in promotion of onlinefacilitation of blood donation, will organise a signature campaign atVR Siddhartha Engineering College on July 12 from 9 a.m, according to organiser K.V. Hari Krishna.

Good response to Signature Campaign

Hi all,

The 10-meter cloth banner on which Indian Women's Cricket Captain Mithali Raj launched the `Signature Campaign' for promoting voluntary blood donation on behalf of http://www.friends2support.org/ was brought to Guntur on Sunday, July 1.

The banner signed by Transport Minister Kanna Lakshmi Narayana, Mithali Raj, and Khairatabad MLA P. Janardhana Reddy and a host of VIP guests at Hyderabad Press Club along with people moving on the main road on May 26, was put up for collecting signatures of people in Brodipet 2 nd Lane 7th Cross in Guntur on Sunday.

Large number of people stopped proceeding to holiday/picnic/tourist destinations stopped for a while and signed on the banner and expressed their solidarity with the cause. More than 200 people signed on the banner within two and a half hours in the afternoon and out of them 110 persons registered online as voluntary blood donors.

Member of Legislative Council from Guntur Teachers' Constituency K.S. Lakshman Rao, Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA and Floor Leader in State Assembly Nomula Narasimhaiah, party district unit secretary D. Rama Devi, Guntur Mandal Revenue Officer Ravindra were among the first to sign on the banner shared by Mithali Raj.

Service Health Organisation director Dr. T. Seva Kumar conducted a free blood grouping camp engaging laboratory technicians and sponsoring entire kit for testing 75 persons. An identity cards were given to all 75 persons with F2S logo and their blood group on one side and site address and toll-free no.0863-2351725 on the other.

Students came in large numbers bringing their friends to register themselves as donors. The F2S volunteers V. Rajagopala Sarma, Mani Kumar and KP took the initiative of registering the people online and organizing entire event. The identity cards were provided by K.P. Babu Computers as his gesture towards the cause.

The toll-free No. 0863-2351725 telephonic counselors/operators N.S.V. Satyanarayana and Srilakshmi need special appreciation for their dedicated participation the programme.

The valuable banner is being sent to Vijayawada where it will be displayed in Sidhartha College where the F2S team led by Hari Krishna will continue this `Signature Campaign' on coming Thursday on the College premises. A 10-meter new banner has been attached to the valuable banner with signatures of the `Voluntary Donors', without whom reaching out to the needy is very difficult. Support Mr. Krishna garu (APTECH) is lending silently cannot missed.

This banner will travel as many cities and towns in Andhra Pradesh and other states as possible to garner support for the cause and encourage people to register themselves as donors online.

HERE ARE SOME PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE GUNTUR `SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN' AND ITS COVERAGE IN THE GUNTUR MEDIA:

Please click the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/susarla13/DOCTORSDAYF2SSignatureCampaignAtGUNTUR

TEAM F2S: Ramesh Susarla

Signature Campaign

Hi all,

We at Guntur will continue the Signature Campaign for Voluntary Blood donation on July 1 at 3 p.m. The campaign launched by Indian Women Cricket Captain Mithali Raj at Press Club Hyderabad on May 26 on behalf of www.friends2support.org will continue here at 2/7, Brodipet, (Near CPI-M Office). The 10-metre banner would be put on the main road and people asked to sign on it.

A blood grouping camp will be organised and identity cards given to those registering as donors on the website.

All those in Guntur may join the campaign and tell their friends about it. This campaign will then move to Vijayawada, where P.B. Siddhartha College students will continue the signature campaign in their college.

Ramesh Susarla

Search for Blood ends at www.friends2support.org

Hi all it has been fun organising several campaigns throughout Andhra Pradesh to promote Voluntary Blood Donation. Come Visit www.friends2support.org, see what we do here and join hands with our team of dedicated volunteers to make your place/town a better place to live where searching blood becomes a cakewalk and not tight-rope walk in case of emergency.