Blood boils at event to felicitate donors

Congress MP Vikram Madam alleges politicisation of the Red Cross-health department function;Blood boiled over at a blood donation event organised by the Red Cross in association with the state health department, Gujarat State Council for Blood Transfusion and Gujarat State Aids Control Society.The function to mark World Blood Donor Day took political overtones after Madam alleged that donors, mainly from his constituency Jamnagar, were ignored
The function to mark the World Blood Donor Day at Tagore Hall on Tuesday took political overtones after Congress Member of Parliament Vikram Madam and his supporters confronted Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas for ignoring donors and people, mainly from his constituency Jamnagar, who had organised more than 100 blood donation camps.

Madam, himself a blood donor, was called all the way from Jamnagar to be felicitated.

“Three days ago, I was invited to the event. During the telephonic conversation with the Red Cross president Mukesh Patel I made it very clear that according to the protocol I shall agree to accept the award only from the hands of Governor Kamlaji which was agreed upon. However when I came here today, the attitude was different,” Madam said.

He claimed to be the only sitting MP who has organised 418 camps and donated blood 39 times. Close to 35,000 blood units have been collected through these camps, he claimed.