Dubai: Konkan Bells, a community group of the Belthangady Varado parishners residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) came forward to organise a blood donation drive in response to a request by Latifa Hospital, Dubai asking volunteers to support them with more blood donations to satiate the shortage of blood at the Blood Donation Centre.

A team led by Balakrishna Salian, roped in many community organisations of Karnataka for the noble cause. Under the initiative of the President of the Konkan Bells Reginald D’Souza, as many as 85 members, a regular donor community group, participated in this campaign to donate blood on March 9 at the Latifa Hospital and made this drive successful.

People came from as far away as Abu Dhabi and Ajman. There were also some first time eager donors-mostly teenagers-who volunteered, 18 years being the minimum age required to donate blood.

Balakrishna Salian, coordinator of the blood donation campaign for the Mangalorean community in the UAE, visited and supported the donors.

This blood donation campaign is expected to help hundreds of children/adults who are suffering from rare diseases and require approximately 75 units of blood per day.

The donors also benefit from the donation as it decreases the possibility of having heart diseases and strokes, and activates the bone marrow to produce new blood cells. Reginald thanked everyone for their contribution to the success of the campaign and also expressed his gratitude to Latifa Hospital for giving them the opportunity to be a part of a life saving drive.