AI Generated Summary
- As the summer sun beats down on Phagwara’s bustling streets, a quieter story of service and compassion unfolds behind the walls of a modest facility in Guru Hargobind Nagar.
- On an average day, 15 units of blood flow from the centre to area hospitals, ensuring that financial hardship never stands between a patient and critical care.
- Emerging from humble beginnings in April 1998, when a small band of volunteers rallied behind philanthropist Kuldip Sardana to organize the town’s first blood drive, the council grew so rapidly that formal registration under Supreme Court guidelines became necessary by July 2004.
As the summer sun beats down on Phagwara’s bustling streets, a quieter story of service and compassion unfolds behind the walls of a modest facility in Guru Hargobind Nagar. Here, the Blood Donors Council (Regd) celebrates its 21st year of uninterrupted dedication to community welfare—an achievement that speaks volumes about the power of sustained local action.
Emerging from humble beginnings in April 1998, when a small band of volunteers rallied behind philanthropist Kuldip Sardana to organize the town’s first blood drive, the council grew so rapidly that formal registration under Supreme Court guidelines became necessary by July 2004. Over two decades later, contributions from NRIs, social organizations and local benefactors have transformed that initial gathering into a fully licensed blood centre, where patients no longer pay for testing or are asked to arrange replacement donors.
Each month, roughly 500 individuals—many battling chronic ailments such as thalassemia, cancer and renal failure—receive life-saving transfusions at no cost. On an average day, 15 units of blood flow from the centre to area hospitals, ensuring that financial hardship never stands between a patient and critical care. A state-of-the-art Blood Component Separator Unit, installed through the efforts of Rotary International and local coordinator Dr. SPS Sooch, and a –80 °C deep freezer sponsored by Sukhjit Starch and Chemicals Ltd., have further enhanced the centre’s capacity to treat complex cases.
Yet blood banking is only one thread in the council’s broad tapestry of service. Twice each month, volunteer dentists and technicians set up free dental check-up and denture camps in memory of Thakur Devi Sethi and Nanak Chand Sethi. Partnering with Christian Dental College, Ludhiana, these outreach efforts have now run more than 300 times, bringing relief and smiles to thousands of seniors. Complementing oral health, monthly eye surgery camps—often walk-in events—have performed over 1,000 operations in both urban neighborhoods and surrounding villages.
Financially strapped patients leave these camps armed not only with restored vision or dental relief but also, when needed, with assistance covering the cost of prescribed medicines. “We strive to fill every gap in patient care,” says Sardana, reflecting the council’s founding ethos of dignity and access.
Digital empowerment and education have become pillars of the council’s evolution. For the past 15 years, the Tarlochan Singh Takhar Memorial Senior Citizens Care Centre has offered daily computer literacy classes to underprivileged girls and elderly citizens alike. Supported by JCT Mills and the Starch Mill management, the programme employs two full-time trainers and has steadily bridged the digital divide for hundreds of participants.
Social welfare drives round out the council’s portfolio. Every two months, families in need receive ration kits; as winter approaches, clothing donations keep the cold at bay; and each year, women from low-income backgrounds receive sewing machines to bolster self-reliance. Partnerships with schools such as Cambridge School, Phagwara, and organizations like GILCO Charitable Trust, Jalandhar, have helped secure scholarships for more than 400 promising students.
Public health education and environmental stewardship complete this holistic approach. The “Roko Cancer” campaign, launched eight years ago under Global Ambassador Kulwant Dhaliwal, delivers free screening camps to promote early detection of malignancies. On World Environment Day and during Van Mahotsav, volunteers plant saplings across Phagwara; on World Ozone Day, they distribute an environmental clipping magazine designed to raise community awareness about ecological issues.
Beyond field operations, the council has become an integral civic partner. Its air-conditioned auditorium hosts police workshops, government scheme briefings and community meetings, while a monthly bulletin documents ongoing projects under the guiding motto: “If you create stories, you must tell others.”
Despite Phagwara’s population swelling past the 100,000 mark—and with large industrial players like JCT Mills, the Sugar Mill and Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals in its orbit—recent council surveys have identified persistent gaps in health awareness among labour colony residents and university hostel students. In response, targeted outreach programs are underway, focusing on preventive education for industrial workers and young adults at institutions including Lovely Professional University and GNA University.
As the Blood Donors Council steps into its 22nd year, its leaders are already mapping new horizons: expanding rural health camps, deepening women’s economic empowerment initiatives and launching fresh educational offerings for youth. Whether through the steady pulse of blood services or the bright promise of digital literacy, this nongovernmental stalwart continues to demonstrate how committed grassroots efforts can transform—and save—lives throughout Punjab’s heartland.
