People live, When people give

Being born as a human; what all try to discover is ‘satisfaction.’ Not once or twice but throughout everyday lives. Regardless of varied situations or life-changing instances, the quest for genuine satisfaction is at the core aspect of every individual’s life goals. But to attain that level of satisfaction differs from individual to individual. For some, it may be by gathering valuable yet expensive gadgets or commodities, to some experiencing a dauntless adventure, and to some might be setting their footprints in the world of business. And, to some rare yet kind souls, satisfaction is all about giving back to the society we live in.

The gift of giving is indeed a wonderful feeling in itself. In fact, it calls for a happy moment when a smile is sparkled on the face of a loved or a needy one. And, when we say gift, it doesn’t mean only materialistic in nature. It can be in monetary, food, or clothes.  But for some is helping people who need immediate medical help at the time of health distress at anytime, anywhere. While mentioning the list of emergency medical needs, the first thing that hits our mind is ‘Blood.’ And, finding quality and right blood group-matched blood is not easy. To mitigate such issues and aid people during a health emergency, many noble souls have come forward.

One such is Chennai based ‘Platelet Club,’ an NGO working day in and day out to save lives of thousands across the nation. Today, the club is recognised to be one of the most empathetic groups of blood and platelet donors who are whole-heartedly dedicated to saving lives. Driven by the motto “Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more,” the club is committed to helping all those who knock their doors.

Srivatsa Vema handing over masks to Police officers during COVID-19 crisis

What started in the year 2007 by Srivatsa Vema to initially help a few numbers of patients that required blood, the club today has grown much beyond just being a blood donor club. In no sooner time, in the year 2017, after a decade of this foundation, it eventually formed ‘Platelet Club.’ The founding idea was to help patients who are looking for platelets. Platelets, in general, are small colourless disc-shaped cell fragment without a nucleus, found in large numbers in blood and involved in clotting. They are primarily essential for those fighting cancer, disease, and traumatic injuries. Unlike whole blood, platelets, on the other hand, have a shelf life of only 5 days, so there is a constant need for donors. Platelet donation procedure is completely safe with minimal to no side effects.  The platelet donation procedure usually takes 45 minutes to 60 minutes and may slightly vary depending on your height and weight.

With the passage of time, this group has found some attention and is being supported by many volunteers across the nation. Not only men, but a huge section from the women community have also stepped ahead for the noble cause. Keeping aside all the challenges and stigmas, women have started to contribute, but educating everyone on the pros and cons of donating would lead to a bigger turn up.  Presently, it has its own verification team whose responsibility is to:

• Collect basic details, 
• Find out whether the need is Emergency or replacement, 
• Cross-check if the patient is a resident or had come for treatment purposes.   

Team of 4, namely Kavitha, NithyaNadha, Vineeth, and Durga Devi, are vital members of the verification team. Along with them, the club is highly supported by Ashok Kumar, Muniraj, Janarthan, RaghuRam, and Mahadevan. Not only restricted to offline social presence, but the club is also highly active through online mode, i.e., Vineeth Manimaran, who is engaged in creating informative memes on the group’s Facebook page.

To conclude, let’s end with an open-ended question. Have you ever donated blood, platelets, or WBC? If yes, I am pretty sure you have made a note of the number of times you've done so. But what if I tell you, that you'll run short of pages in notepad if you are Duraisamy Karuppiah, Rohith Fernandes, Poorna Chandran or Sridhar Onkar. Why? Because these are the names of those unsung heroes who have saved more than 450+ lives among them. They are the members of the elite “Centurion Donors” club. What this means is, they have each donated more than 100 times  (150 in case of Duraisamy), which is a superhuman feat, and I don’t think they will stop donating anytime soon. 

In years to come, the Platelet Club aims to promote awareness among people more on niche health issues and mitigate them by bridging the gap between the needy and the donor. Thus, being an extended arm for the health and welfare of society in general.