Last Updated on January 2, 2023 by Neelam Singh
Every year, June 14 is observed as the World Blood Donor Day to raise public awareness about the important social duty of donating the life-saving fluid i.e., blood.
While donating blood is considered a noble causey, many people feel hesitant about it because of lack of awareness. But only those who have lost their near and dear ones because of loss of blood know how precious a drop of blood is. Mukesh Hisariya, who hails from Jhumritalaiyya in Jharkhand, also experienced something similar in his life which made blood donation his goal.
The starting point
Mukesh Hisariya was brought up in Patna and studied at the city’s Raja Ram Mohan Roy Seminary School. Thereafter, he went to Vanijya Mahavidyalaya affiliated to Patna University to complete his bachelor’s degree in commerce. He had to give up studies early because of family responsibilities and started doing job in 1989.
But fate had other plans for the man. In 1991, Mukesh’s mother fell ill and she had to be taken to Vellore in Tamil Nadu since she needed an intensive treatment.
“I had to stay back in Vellore for almost a month because of my mother’s treatment. There I saw people suffering because of the scarcity in supply of blood. The scenes of people dying due to the shortage of blood and their families crying rattled my heart. Although I returned to Patna after my mother’s treatment, I came back with a resolve – to create awareness about blood donation among people so that more people come forward and do it”, Mukesh said. Mukesh himself donated blood for the first time at Christian Medical College, Vellore the same year in 1991.
When tragedies served as inspiration
Recalling another tragic incident, he added, “During my stay in Vellore, I saw a Bengali couple who had also come there for the treatment of their three months old daughter. Unfortunately, she could not be saved because blood could not be arranged on time. It was very difficult to see what those parents went through.”
“After witnessing such situations, I made up my mind to set up a blood bank. I gathered around 20-25 people and then laid the foundation of Maa Vaishno Devi Seva Samiti Trust, also known as Maa Blood Bank. Since my mother was then under complete bed rest, I got some free time and then I started encouraging people to donate blood”, Mukesh said.
The challenge lies in changing mindset
The journey has been far from easy for Mukesh, thanks to the beliefs that common people harbour about blood donation. For many, blood donation makes one’s body weak. Besides, it becomes difficult to convince people about donating blood because of fake blood banks. However, social media has played a positive role in raising public awareness about donating blood. People share the information whenever there is a need for blood and it helps in saving lives. Mukesh learnt about this aspect of social media from a few youngsters in Hyderabad who used to post information about blood requirements on social media platforms regularly. It was the time when people were using Orkut (a social media site). Slowly, the world of social media expanded like never before and this noble cause only got served better.
Blood camps are also being held regularly. There have been more than 20 such camps till date and anybody who donates blood at such camps is given a donor card with which they can borrow blood from any government hospital anytime. Donation of blood also gives people a sense of satisfaction about doing something good. Mukesh, who has a knack of helping people, himself donates blood two to three times a year.
The goal is to eradicate thalassemia
Mukesh said that he is working towards the goal of eradicating thalassemia from Bihar by running an awareness programme to educate people about the disease. He also engages in other social services, such as conducting the ‘Ek Vivah Aisa Bhi’ campaign since 2009 that aims at helping financially weak people through community marriage. Till date, marriages of 488 pairs have happened under the scheme. Mukesh encourages people to donate eyes and organs after death under Dadhichi Deh Daan Samiti.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Mukesh started a virtual blood bank to meet people’s emergency needs. He also runs a Facebook page named ‘Bihar blood bank’ and is quite active on WhatsApp. He also takes care of people who are unable to go to doctors because of physical conditions by making online medical consultancy available for them. In this programme, only those doctors who voluntarily treat patients are included. They are members of organisations such as Indian Red Cross Society, Shakti Dham Seva Trust, etc.
Recognition for his efforts
Mukesh has received many awards for his humanitarian efforts. In 2017, he was felicitated by Baranwal Bhavan Trust, Patna. The next year, he received Samaj Seva Samman. In 2019, he was awarded under the ‘Road Safety’ programme organised by the government of Bihar and also received Pandit Rajkumar Shukla Seva Samman from the state’s agriculture department. In 2020, he received Atal Samman.
The story of Mukesh has been a far-reaching one, and today, he has overcome tough obstacles to help people get life-saving blood on time. He started a mission after understanding how precious blood is to save lives and has received help from a lot of people who now fondly call him by the name of ‘bloodman’.
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