May 2018 – Did you know that the NHS requires over 6,000 blood donations every day to treat patients in England? Unfortunately, only 3% of those who donated blood in the last 12 months came from black or Asian heritage backgrounds. To address this need, Sewa UK and HSS (UK) joined forces to organize several social and cultural initiatives throughout the year.

On May 9th, the Gita Bhavan Hindu Temple in Manchester hosted a successful blood donation camp. Led by Dr. Poonam Kakkar, a respected GP, and supported by the NHS Blood and Transplant team, the event sparked significant interest within the community. In total, 54 units of life-saving blood were collected, which will go on to help those in need.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to all those who participated in this noble act of “Daan” (selfless giving). If you would like to get involved in future blood donation events, download the NHSGiveBlood app. The next event at this venue is scheduled for September 2018.