Akkialur, the hometown of ‘blood soldiers’

The Akkialur welcome board reads ‘home of blood soldiers‘. Credit: DH Photo

A blood donation camp conducted in a police station in Akkialur. Credit: DH Photo

For 11 years, Shivangouda Policepatil of Hosaritti village in Haveri district would rush to a Belagavi hospital every time his son needed blood for thalassemia care. Things worsened during the first wave of Covid when restrictions were imposed on inter-district movement.

This was when the Sneha Maitri Blood Army from Akkialur came to the rescue. In the last two years, volunteers from the organisation have ensured that the 13-year-old boy gets blood regularly.

During medical emergencies, those in need of blood in Akkialur, Haveri and even neighbouring districts call this ‘army of blood soldiers’ (as they call themselves).

Led by Karabasappa Gondi, a police constable associated with Adur Police Station near Hangal, this informal group has around 700 volunteers in Akkialur itself. The group has come to the rescue of so many people that their town Akkialur is now known to be the ‘hometown of blood soldiers’.

Set up in 2015, the group currently has over 3,000 active members across Karnataka and they regularly donate blood or blood components that help patients suffering from anaemia, cancer, thalassemia and other blood-related disorders. They also help people who have been in accidents and those who have lost blood during deliveries.

The group even travelled to neighbouring states when the situation demanded it and also braved risks during Covid.

Just 33, Gondi has donated blood/blood components 55 times. The group comprises students, traders, government employees, a seer and those like Chandrakanth K V (57), an engineer with the Ministry of Defence, who has donated blood about 244 times.

“We can give a thousand reasons to not donate blood but just the one cause of saving a life is enough to beat all doubts,” says Chandrakanth who has even donated stem cells to a child with cancer as an unrelated match donor.

He adds that blood donation does not affect a person’s health in any way but donors must be aware of precautions before donating blood.

Awareness

As one of the largest groups of donors in north Karnataka, volunteers conduct at least four blood donation camps in Haveri each month while also creating awareness. They visit schools and other public institutions to talk about the importance of blood donation. Here, they clarify who can donate blood, how can it be donated and also myths associated with the process.

“Sneha Maitri volunteers are always at the forefront whenever the police comes across cases where there is a need for blood. They have encouraged many policemen too to donate blood,” said Haveri Superintendent of Police Hanumantharaya while appreciating Gondi for his social work.

The group has even converted a state-run bus (NWKRTC Hangal depot) into a mobile awareness vehicle. The bus with posters on blood donation operates between Hangal and Haveri passing through 40 villages each day.

Inspired by this, several people have signed up to be a part of the Sneha Maitri group over the years.

But the journey of building this large group of volunteers was not easy. Inspired by the words of his college lecturer, he started planting trees and creating awareness about eye and body donation. Gondi had a vision problem as a boy
and had to undergo surgery before joining the police force. This, he says, inspired a new appreciation of sight. He convinced his family to pledge their eyes and donate their body for medical research after death.

As a policeman, he has convinced several people who come to the police station to donate their eyes and their bodies for medical research.

In 2014, when he got married, Gondi created awareness about eye donation and gifted the guests plants.

A few days after the wedding, he also got a call from an individual in distress asking if he could donate blood to save a pregnant woman. Unfortunately, his blood group was not a match.

This incident moved him so much that he pledged and successfully built an army of blood donors.

Shoukath Ali, another policeman from Haveri district recalls, “just days after delivering our child, my wife was bleeding heavily. It took just a phone call and a volunteer arrived to the hospital ready to donate plasma. I just can’t thank them enough.”

The group is set to organise its 50th blood camp where transgender people will donate blood.