A bee-line of eager volunteers at the recently conducted blood donation camp held at the Indian School of Business (ISB), once again proved the spirit of commune and service amongst the ISB community.

A record 269 units of blood was collected at the event, organised by enthusiastic Net Impact volunteers from the Class of 2009. Last year 204 units were collected at a similar camp held at the ISB. Clearly the essence of giving has had a quantum leap this year! Students, Faculty and Staff at the ISB took out time from their schedule and were seen tirelessly waiting for their turn to donate blood during the day long event conducted at the School’s premises.

“Fridays are usually a lazy day for most of us, but the overwhelming response proved my initial doubts wrong. We had the place buzzing with donors all through the day” said Kanchal Lall, one of the organisers from the Class of 2009.

The planning towards this event had begun about three weeks in advance. Teams from the student community had been put into place, and responsibilities delegated. One team was responsible for logistics, another towards the marketing campaign, and yet another took on the onus of gathering volunteers.

Marketing of the event involved sensitising the batch towards blood donation. Posters had been put up at the cafeteria, outside the student villages, the lecture theatres and the other publicly frequented spots. Doctors from the current batch of students educated the students about the entire blood donation process and also cleared myths and fears about the same.

Student Sharmista Menon was seen sipping her fruit juice, provided at the camp after the donation. She did not hesitate to share, “This is my first time. I must admit I panicked a little, but then decided to look away from the needle and the blood, and then it was easy.’ She was accompanied by colleague Nirav Rawell who is a pro in this regard. “I have donated blood maybe half a dozen times. My motivation is simple – I have enough blood, so why not share?”

Member of the staff Devika Sriram recalls, “It was my first experience at such a camp. Everything was so well organised – hygienic, effective volunteers, etc. I felt so proud to see the staff at the ISB turning out in large numbers to participate in this noble cause of being ‘life savers’”.

The blood donation camp, held every year at the ISB, is an ice-breaking event for the members of the Net Impact Club, which is soon to be formalised this year. It is also a pointer towards greater social goals of the ISB community.

The start is always a drop of hope.