COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

ON

BLOOD DONATION CAMPAIGN

INDIAN RED CROSS SOCIETY

Submitted by

Swetha Vimalathithan

Registration number

12100494

In partial fulfilment for the requirements of the award of the

degree of BTech CSE

School of Computer Science and Engineering

Lovely Professional University

Phagwara, Punjab.
Introduction
The Indian Red Cross is a voluntary humanitarian organization having a
network of over 1100 branches throughout the country, providing relief in
times of disasters/emergencies and promotes health & care of the vulnerable
people and communities. It is a leading member of the largest independent
humanitarian organization in the world, the International Red Cross & Red
Crescent Movement. The movement has three main components, the
International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), National Societies and
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The Mission of the Indian Red Cross is to inspire, encourage and initiate at all
times all forms of humanitarian activities so that human suffering can be
minimized and even prevented and thus contribute to creating more congenial
climate for peace.
• Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) was established in 1920 under the Indian
Red Cross Society Act and incorporated under Parliament Act XV of
1920. The act was last amended in 1992 and of rules were formed in
1994.
• The IRCS has 36 State / Union Territories Branches with their more than
1100 districts and sub district branches.
The Indian Red Cross is a pioneer in the field of blood services and one of the
largest voluntary blood banks in India since 1962. IRCS regularly conducts
motivational campaigns to organize Voluntary Blood Donation Camps. It has
more than 100 blood banks all over the country under different states and
district branches.
Problem Identification and the Cause of
the Problem
Despite a huge population, the demand-supply gap for blood units persists in
many healthcare facilities in the country. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), India suffers from an annual deficit of 2 million blood
units, as only 1% of Indian population donates blood each year. This is due to
the lack of awareness among the common population. To help minimise this
gap we worked with Indian red cross society to spread awareness and organise
a voluntary blood donation campaign.
Objective to be achieved
The objective of this project was to spread awareness and educate the people
around my locality to donate blood. While talking to the public we realised that
the misconceptions about blood donation was one of the major barriers for
people to donate blood. We sought to spread awareness about the safety
measures taken while donating blood and encourage everyone to be a part in
saving lives. We wanted to do our part to help bridge the gap in blood
deficiency in India. This was achieved by organising a voluntary blood donation
campaign in my locality.
Various Steps taken to achieve the
objectives
To achieve the above-mentioned objectives Sabari Balaji Educational and
Charitable Trust organised a blood donation campaign in association with
Indian Red Cross Society.
First, we contacted IRCS with official letter requesting to conduct the camp on
particular date and proper place. Once we received confirmation, pamphlets,
posters, banners, and dissemination of messages by word of mouth were used
for generating awareness about the event.
On the blood donation camp day, every donor's haemoglobin and blood group
was checked. The criteria to donate blood was to at least have a haemoglobin
of 13 gm% and 12 gm% for males and females, respectively.

The path of the donor

The 'path of the donor' refers to the areas in the voluntary blood donation
camp through which the donor needs to pass. The first one was the waiting
area, at which donors entered and then passed through the donor registration
area, where the registration work was done. From here they proceeded to the
donor testing area where haemoglobin test was done, and then to the medical
officer for examination. After they are accepted as donors, they went to the
second waiting area where they waited for their turn to enter the blood
donation site or bleeding area. After donating blood, they left from the blood
donation site to the resting area, where food and liquid refreshment were
served by staff who also supervise the post donation period. Finally, the
donors left the voluntary blood donation camp. Each donor was taken care of
by looking after any post donation weakness or nausea plus were also
provided with refreshments.

Camp phase arrangements

The following are six steps of camp phase arrangements:
Registration: Blood donor's personal detail such as name, father's name, age,
address, telephone no., etc. was recorded and a questionnaire was given to
donors to access their present and past health status. The purpose was to
select a suitable donor whose blood will be safe for a recipient.
Haemoglobin test: This was done in the blood donation camp itself and by the
technician on duty before the donor was declared fit. Blood donor's
haemoglobin level was checked to ensure that he/she is not suffering from
anaemia and can safely donate a unit of blood.
Medical examination: A medical officer asked the blood donor certain
questions about his medical history to ascertain that blood donor was fit to
donate blood and he examined donors. Donor's weight, blood pressure, pulse
and temperature are recorded. Only good health, mentally alert and physically
fit individuals were accepted as blood donors.
Donation of blood: On receiving the donor from the medical officer, we
checked the identity of the donor with the donor form
• Made necessary entries in the donors register, selected appropriate bag,
inspected bag for any defects and discoloration, and applied pressure to
check for any leaks. The anticoagulant and additive solution was
inspected for appropriate volume, colour and particulate contaminates,
enter back tube no. in the donor register.
• Prepared bag level with donor identity, unit no., blood group, date of
bleeding on the bag.
• Passed the donor and the bag to the nurse.
• The nurse rechecked the donor identity with the bag and donor form.
• Blood was withdrawn with the help of a sterile and disposable kit after
cleaning blood donors’ arm with an antiseptic solution. Altogether, the
process took only 5-8 minutes.
• Striped the donor tubing completely as possible in to the bag, starting at
seal. The nurses worked quickly to prevent blood from clotting in the
tube. Then they inverted the bag several time to mix thoroughly, and
then allowed tube to refill with anticoagulated blood from the bag.
Repeated this procedure.
• The healthcare workers then applied pressure with sterile gauze over
the point of entry of the needle, apply bandage after bleeding stops.
• We kept the donor under observation for some time.
 • Talked with the donor, divert his attention and keep the donor
comfortable. Cool and friendly environment keep the donor
comfortable.
• The serious complication of blood donation is syncope (fainting or
vasovagal syndrome) it may be caused by the sight of blood
(psychological) or due to withdrawal of blood (neurophysiologic),
• All of the volunteers were aware of this reaction and kept necessary kits
ready for resuscitation.
• When reaction occurs to a donor, motivator or medico-social worker
should remain calm and try not to get other donors upset and call the
medical officer-in-charge of the blood collection team, but ensuring the
prevention of the donor from falling down. Placing the donor on the bed
or floor with a pillow under the feet, helps in subsiding minor reactions.
But doctors should check up the donor in all such cases. In case of
bleeding from the seal of venepuncture, give pressure with cotton wool,
folding the arm with a cotton wool pad in between and raise the folded
hand a little upward helps in stopping such bleeding. Once the bleeding
stops, the venepuncture site may be sealed again.
• All the discarded blood bag tubing and needles were segregated
separately for disposal as per bio-safety protocols and waste
management. They should never be left unattended.
• Needles, lancet and syringes were destroyed with the needle cutter.
• After the camp was over, the entire area was cleaned with a
disinfectant-sodium hypochlorite (working area and phenyl or bleaching
powder- floor)

Refreshment: After donation, the donors rested in the refreshment area under
observation and were served with some light refreshments. The donors should
be advised to remain in refreshment room for at least 15 minutes and should
be advised to increase their water consumption during the day and refrain
from smoking for half an hour.
Effectiveness of the Project
The voluntary blood donation campaign had a good turnout. Even though our
campaign was small scale, its impact was big. We were able to spread
awareness in our locality about the benefits of blood donation.
There are many advantages to donating blood. The most important benefit is
that you are saving one life. The blood donated can be used three times
because it is sectioned into various components, which are very useful. It
revitalizes the poor health condition of a human being. The human body is
capable of regenerating blood within a few hours after donation. Doctors
recommend donating blood every three months because it helps to excrete
waste blood in your body and fresh blood is made which keeps you healthier.
Conclusion
The reason to donate is simple…it helps save lives. In fact, every two seconds
of every day, someone needs blood. Since blood cannot be manufactured
outside the body and has a limited shelf life, the supply must constantly be
replenished by generous blood donors.
Blood donors play a vital role in the healthcare of patients in your community.
With every blood donation, you are providing strength, hope and courage to
patients and their families in your local hospitals.
Thus, it is important to spread awareness and play an active role in helping our
community. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends everyone to:
• Become a blood donor today and help save lives.
• Commit to being a regular donor and give blood throughout the year.
• Encourage your friends and family to become regular blood donors.
• Volunteer with the blood service to reach out to members of your
community, provide care to donors, and help manage blood donation
sessions/drives.
• Find out your blood type and register as a blood donor.
• Participate in local World Blood Donor Day events