Quantum Foundation, a voluntary blood donors' organisation, on Thursday honoured a total of 300 voluntary blood donors who have donated blood multiple times in their lifetime. Professor Rafiq Ullah Khan, Vice-Chancellor of Sheikh Hasina University, handed over crests and certificates among them at a ceremony at Institution of Diploma Engineers, (IDEB). Read:Covid-19 burials: Quantum volunteers working through this lockdown too He said voluntary blood donors are basically turning their bloodstream into a stream of consciousness. “And by donating blood voluntarily, they are not only benefiting one person, they are not benefiting the nation, they are benefiting the world.” At the programme, the foundation honoured the regular blood donors in three categories – for donating at least three bags of blood, at least 25 bags and 50 bags of bloods voluntarily. Chief-coordinator of the Quantum Foundation Madam Nahar Al Bokhari presided over the function. The country needs about eight lakh bags of safe and healthy blood every year. Quantum has supplied one-eighth of the country's total demand for blood, she said. Read:Quantum Foundation awards 58 winners of World Meditation Day competition Quantum has been conducting awareness raising and voluntary blood donation activities among the public since 1996 with the aim of meeting this huge demand of blood shortage. In the last two decades, the Quantum Foundation has been able to play a role in saving the lives of more than 13 lakh people in this way.

A week ago, a crisis hit the family of Shahed Alam's best friend -- there was no donor available to donate blood for his pal's cancer-stricken father. After unsuccessfully knocking the doors of blood banks across the city for two days, Shahed finally decided to harness the power of social media on Saturday, but to no avail. "I have been trying hard to arrange blood for my friend's father -- a cancer patient admitted to Mohakhali Cancer Hospital -- since last week. But finding donors is turning out to be a Herculean task amid the nationwide lockdown. Due to strict movement restrictions and the fear of Covid, blood donors are just not stepping out of their homes," he told UNB. Yes, the Covid-19 lockdown has severely affected the movements of donors across the country, triggering a massive shortage of blood. Most blood banks in the capital as well as other parts of Bangladesh are running short of life-saving blood. "Blood donors are just reluctant to come out these days. And those who do are often subjected to grilling at police check posts across the city. This is because the Good Samaritans don't possess the mandatory movement passes, and convincing the sentry at a police check post is also a time-consuming affair," said another city resident. Also read: PCR machine reaches RMCH for COVID-19 test Bangladesh's annual demand for blood is around 8 lakh units. About 25% of the nation's annual blood requirement come from voluntary donation, 20–25% from paid donors, and 50–55% from one-time donation for a particular patient. But the country has seen a drastic fall in both voluntary and direct blood donations in recent weeks. The decline in blood donations has triggered a chain reaction -- plasma collection has been hit hard. Plasma is the liquid portion of blood that contains antibodies. Many countries have already allowed the use of plasma therapy to treat severely ill Covid patients. The therapy involves the use of plasma of recovered Covid patients as a potential treatment.

World Blood Donor Day 2021 has arrived this year with the slogan “Give blood and keep the world beating”. The world needs blood donors to deliver safe blood to sick people who are struggling to survive injuries, surgeries, or diseases. Though Blood donation is a noble cause in every civilised society on earth, many healthy adults fear donating blood. Read this article to know the basic concepts and benefits of blood donation.