Sherab Lhamo

De-Suung blood donation programme is helping clear around 700 units of blood due at Tata Medical Centre (TMC) in Kolkata, India where 121 Bhutanese cancer patients are currently undergoing treatment.

Nearly 1,000 de-suups volunteered for the programme to donate blood for Bhutanese cancer patients, especially those battling leukaemia treatment at TMC.

The programme aims to address the critical shortage of blood faced by patients battling leukaemia and other cancers.

De-Suung’s chief planning officer, Tandin Dorji, said the objectives for this initiative was to fulfil His Majesty’s Kidu, clear the government’s blood due to TMC, and demonstrate de-suups’ commitment to serving the community.

On July 25, the first batch of De-Suung volunteers left for Kolkata after undergoing thorough medical screening.

The TMC blood bank was prepared to accommodate up to 40 donors per day.

The first batch consisting of 41 de-suups donated their blood on Friday and came back from Kolkata on July 28. The second batch of de-suups left yesterday for Kolkata.

The De-Suung office, the Ministry of Health, and Kidu Medical Service of His Majesty’s Secretariat facilitated the testing of potential donors.

Despite the government’s annual allocation of INR 350 million for medical treatment in India, the demand for blood remains a persistent challenge. Recognising the urgent need, De-Suung, in collaboration with the Royal Bhutanese Consulate in Kolkata, organised this large-scale initiative.

De-suup Druk Zam said that she volunteered as it was His Majesty’s Kidu and heard that Bhutanese patients in TMC needed blood.

De-suup Thinley Dorji said that the Bhutanese patients in the hospital were grateful to the blood donors, as buying blood from Kolkata cost around Nu 7,000 per unit. “The first person they should be grateful for this initiative is His Majesty the King.”

He added that Bhutanese patients with bone cancer often require 31 units of blood.

Tandin Dorji, who also donated blood, said, “As a de-suup who follow my honour code, which is to help every citizen leaving my comfort behind, I wanted to take part in this initiative.”

Eleven division heads of TMC with the director came to thank and were grateful to His Majesty the King and the de-suups.

Tandin Dorji said that the Royal Bhutanese Consulate team and health representative officials in Kolkata from Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital shared that through this initiative 60 percent of the workload was made easier because many patient attendants pressured them to donate blood.

The first batch of de-suups were from Thimphu. In the second batch, 17 de-suups were from Phuentsholing and 24 from Thimphu. The third batch will leave for TMC on August 1, and the fourth batch from Tsirang on August 4.