You are someone's type

As you all know( or not know) I am part of the Peerancheruvu Runners or better known by the acronym PCR. We all live in the Pee'ran'cheruvu area and are passionate about running and leading an active and healthy life. We conduct Annual Anniversary runs on the first Sunday of December celebrating the number of years PCR has been going strong for. This year's event took place on 6th of December but rather than us all assembling to run, we ran our own ways and assembled (safely) for a good cause.

This lockdown has made us face some really tough times. Even for people who had all the basic necessities and even luxuries. This year has become a year where I became much more grateful and appreciative for everything I had because I never lacked anything at any point of time. Still I had a hard time just sitting at home perfectly healthy and fine. However what got me back to reality is that there are people who have been suffering before and which have become way worse due to this pandemic and lockdown. We lived in the fear of getting sick everyday for almost a year now, I can’t start to imagine the mindset of those who have been sick throughout their life and have a disease that can’t be cured. I think it is very important for me, someone who is the next generation as well as someone who is better off than most to play my part in helping those people who are not as much as I can. Hence the topic that I am picking up today is inspired by this year's PCR anniversary run theme which is Khoon-Pasina (Blood-Sweat). In 2020 edition, you can either register to donate your sweat i.e to do a set distance of running/walking or donating your blood to the Aarohi Blood bank or both. If you are donating sweat, you can find yourself a partner to donate their blood or vice versa. Due to this event I learnt a lot about blood donations and also how hard it is for people who depend on them for their lives.

Did you know-”One person’s blood can save 3 people’s life”

There are not many people who donate blood in general but due to the pandemic and lockdown it has become even harder for the blood banks as there is an acute shortage of blood donations. Aarohi Blood bank helps children who have thalassemia. Thalassemia is an inherited (i.e., passed from parents to children through genes) blood disorder caused when the body doesn’t make enough of a protein called hemoglobin, an important part of red blood cells. When there isn’t enough hemoglobin, the body’s red blood cells don’t function properly and they last shorter periods of time, so there are fewer healthy red blood cells traveling in the bloodstream.. Their only chance of survival is regular blood transfusions. 

Here is a message directly from them-

At Aarohi Blood Bank we support almost 200 Thalassemia Children get approximately 250 Units of Blood every month. Aarohi would love to see an average of 50 Donors Walk In to ABB and/or conduct a Blood Donation Drive / Camp of 50 to 100 donors. appeal to you to take this cause and be the Motivator / Leader / Mobilizer / Change Agent in your community group or workplace.

And since they were finding it difficult to meet the required amount of blood needed PCR decided to be the change agent and rope them into our event. We were partially successful as we got 75 pints of blood. However out of 1500 families, only 75 people gave blood. This still was an unexpected number and I applaud everyone who has donated on the 6th of December or to anyone who has donated through this pandemic and helped save lives.

I am not yet eligible to donate blood so for the Khoon Pasina edition, I donated my sweat and on my behalf Mr.Naveen KL, founder of a local community app called Trice donated his blood. I did 10*5 which is 10 km for 5 days. However while doing this I got into the habit of going out and walking. Since then I have done 155 km in 15 days. So they did achieve their goal of getting a couch potato out of its couch.




After the event, it didn't feel right to stop supporting and spreading awareness about this cause so since then we have been carrying a flag which promotes donating blood. It has travelled from one person to another and they carry it when they step out of the house and answer questions about blood donations when they are asked about it. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I too got a chance to carry it for a day. It was a different experience carrying something on your back and walking by people staring at you curiously. It is not normal to have people looking at you for something you are doing but since it was for a good cause, I had no problem.


That is the beauty of doing something which is not for yourself. You don’t feel embarrassed rather have a feeling of pride for doing it even if it is small. Being a small part of this small organisation fighting for a bigger cause made me feel a connection to the bigger world.

So if you are eligible and capable, Please DONATE BLOOD. If you go to a certified bank, it is done in a safe way with all precautions. Also they won’t take blood from you if your body will be affected by it or can’t manage it. However doesn't it give us a better reason to lead a healthy life. We can lead a healthy and happy life and also give someone else a healthy and happy life too. It's a win-win situation.

 “Your blood is replaceable. A life is not.”