On the occasion of golden jubilee of country’s independence Quantum Foundation on Saturday has honored 50 people, including a woman who donated blood 50 times voluntarily.   Education Minister Dipu Moni attended the reception program as chief guest, held at city’s Institution of Diploma Engineers (IDEB) auditorium on Saturday noon.   She said voluntary blood donors have played the role of pioneers in breaking the social barrier, emotional and social fears regarding blood donation. READ: Quantum Foundation honours 300 voluntary blood donors “It is the reflection of blood donor’s good work that 50 people in the country have donated blood 50 times on the 50th year of country’s independence,” said the Education Minister.   Dipu Moni thanked and welcomed the blood donors and urged them to create new blood donors.  Mizanur Rahman Sajal, who donated 56 times, spoke on behalf of the donors at the program. READ: Covid-19 burials: Quantum volunteers working through this lockdown too Professor Dr. Nezamuddin Ahmad, Department Head of Centre for Palliative Care (CPC), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University attended the program as special guest chaired by Nahar El Bukhari, Chief Coordinator of Voluntary blood donation campaign, Quantum Foundation. 

So far, over 11 million Bangladeshis have signed up to receive notifications with opportunities to donate blood, says Facebook on Monday.  Globally, over 100 million people have signed up to be blood donors on Facebook since this feature was launched in 2017.  In response to urgent blood shortages during the pandemic, it was scaled up to 26 countries in the past year.   Read Why to Give Blood? Know the Benefits of Blood Donation “At Facebook, we are trying to build online communities for positive impact. During the pandemic, Facebook has worked with Bloodman and blood banks around the country to ensure people continue to have safe access to blood. This World Blood Donor Day, we encourage more Bangladeshis to sign up, donate blood to their nearest blood banks and motivate others,” said Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, who leads public policy for Bangladesh at Facebook.  As countries around the world continue to grapple with the ongoing pandemic, blood banks are in urgent need of blood donors.  In conjunction with World Blood Donor Day this year, Facebook has partnered with Bloodman to urge more people in Bangladesh to become blood donors and encourage friends and family to do the same.  Read: Lockdown triggers blood shortage in Bangladesh In 2018, Facebook’s Blood Donations feature was launched in Bangladesh in partnership with Bloodman, the country’s first digital blood donation organization.  This was a collaboration between Facebook and the ICT Division of Bangladesh to connect people to their local blood banks, so they know where there is a shortage and when it is safe to donate.  People in Bangladesh can play a role in raising awareness about the importance of donating and help build a reliable and sustainable supply of blood in the country, said a media release.  Read: ICT Division partners with Facebook, Bloodman BD to boost .blood donation To better support community-based blood collection, Facebook also introduced a way for blood banks to share their mobile drives via Facebook Events, increasing their visibility to nearby, potential donors.  “Hospitals and blood banks across Bangladesh have been facing challenges in collecting blood because of the pandemic. At this time, Facebook’s Blood Donations tool has made it easier for blood banks to digitise their services and connect with potential blood donors. We thank Bloodman and Facebook for digitising the blood donations system and raising awareness about donating. Patients in hospitals can now use this technology to receive care swiftly during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Syed Mujibul Huq, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. To receive notifications from blood banks nearby about donating, one needs go to the Blood Donations feature in the About section of Facebook profile.  Read Quantum Foundation honours 221 voluntary blood donors

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.