STANTON, DE. – The Charity Crossing fall blood drive helped make for a busy Saturday, November 16 at the Blood Bank of Delmarva’s (BBD) Christiana Donor Center.
Charity Crossing not only helped fill 65 of 96 appointments in Christiana, but they also helped bolster the diversity of blood inventory. The majority of Charity Crossing’s members are of Indian descent, and the impact they’ve had on BBD’s demographic statistics is palpable.
At BBD, the percentage of Asian donors doubled from 1.1 percent in 2022 to 2.2 percent in 2023.
The growth in Asian donors at BBD has largely been driven by Charity Crossing’s quarterly blood drives. With the addition of the Shree Swaminarayn Temple this year and the annual Delaware Nepali Society blood drives, it will be interesting to see what the 2024 numbers look like.
“I’m so happy to see the progress we are making,” said Charity Crossing Founder and President Jay Muthukamatchi. “About four years ago, I asked folks in the community to do this kind of event, to address the blood emergency during COVID; I wanted to do a blood drive to help reduce the blood product shortages. Some discouraged my effort. I ignored [them].
“I focused on the need, believed in kindness, inspired and rallied donors,” he added. “I recognized donors to motivate them to donate in the future. It worked. You can see the impact. The awareness campaign among Asian community is working. Many first-time donors are enthusiastically donating.”
Indeed, among those inspired to come in on November 16 were Sundarraman Srinivasan, who had not donated blood in years, and his wife, Lakshmipriyaa Sundarram, who donated blood for the first time ever in her life.
“I always liked to donate blood, but it’s been five or six years since I last did,” Srinivasan said. “I saw this posted on Charity Crossing’s Facebook, and that triggered me [to come in].”
Additionally, Baranidharan Radhakrishnan, Gopinath Srinavasan, and Alkekya Veeramchineni participated in the Charity Crossing Fall Blood Drive. Radhakrishnan has been to every Charity Crossing, blood drive.
“It’s fun for us,” he said. “We are educating the community.”
Veni Jayakumar, who is Muthukamatchi’s wife, did not donate at this Charity Crossing blood drive, but she’s a member of the prestigious, 4 Galloneer Club.
“I understand that my whole blood donation saves three lives,” she said. “I’ve been donating since 2002; I’m in the lifesaver program. I’m happy to continue as long as I can.”
