Bhakti Chalak/Pune

Pune resident Suresh Sapkal lost his 19-year-old son due to blood cancer some 13 years ago. “After my son passed away, I realized the importance of blood donation for saving lives. Instead of sitting at home grieving the loss of my son, I took up blood donation in a big way as I wanted to contribute to society. ”

Recently, on the occasion of the centenary of the legendary singer Mohammed Rafi on December 24, Sapkal organised a blood donation camp in the Navi Peth area of Pune in collabopration with NGO Sujay Pratishthan. More than fifty people celebrated Mohammad Rafi's birth centenary by donating blood.

This also fulfilled Sapkal’s mission of raising awareness about blood donation and saving lives through it.

After the blood donation camp, a documentary based on the life of Mohammad Rafi was shown in the evening. After this, a program of melodious music concerts was also held. 

Sakpal told Awaz-the Voice, “My uncle is a big fan of Rafi. Every year he organizes a music concert on Mohammad Rafi's birthday. So, this year was Rafi's birth centenary, so we both decided to come together and organize a blood donation camp."

He added, “This is probably the first time that someone is organizing a blood donation camp in memory of a singer. I thought why not organize a blood donation camp instead of doing some other activities? This activity will send a good message to the society and will also help the needy.”

People paying tributes to Mohammad Rafi at the blood donation camp

Suresh Sapkal has organized hundreds of blood donation camps till now. This is his 98th time donating blood. Sapkal has a heartbreaking story behind organizing blood donation camps.

During the blood shortage in the state due to the Corona pandemic, Suresh Sapkal and his organization provided plasma and blood to more than a thousand needy people. He was honored by the then Governor for his contribution. 

Thalassemia is a disease that is prevalent in children. Many children lose their lives due to this disease. These patients need blood transfusions once in two months. So, to save such patients, more and more blood donation camps are being organized every day.   

Sapkal says, “During the Corona period, we brought together the Muslim brothers and sisters we helped in need of the blood and issued a fatwa about blood donation at Shastri Chowk. Since then, those people have also been holding blood donation camps every year and donating blood on a large scale.” 

He further says, “We also convinced the people of the neighborhoods of Hadapsar and Ramtekdi about the importance of blood donation. We told them that if Muslims also started donating blood regularly, they could help 10 percent of the people who need to be infused blood. After we told them, those people also understood the importance and showed us the confidence to donate blood.” 

To preserve humanity in society, everyone should donate blood, considering it a duty and a real need, regardless of caste, religion, or sect.

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Sapkal said, "Blood is not made in any factory, it is only obtained from people. When it comes time to donate blood, no one sees what caste it belongs to. Blood has no caste or religion, so no one can tell whether it is Hindu or Muslim. There should be only humanity in blood. Therefore, people should donate blood more and more, because no one can tell when and what time it will come for someone."