A Visionary Centurian Blood Donor: 126 Out

RAIPUR, CG (INDIA): Dr. Arvind Neral is a well-known name in the field of Blood Donation. Being a pathologist by profession, he is well conversant with need, importance and technicalities of blood donation. Today, on his 65th Birthday he has donated blood which was his 126th times. It was his last blood donation of life, because as per medical norms, blood donation is not allowed after 65 vears of age. Dr Neral joined this noble cause during his internship time in the medical college soon after passing MBBS and since he started donating blood almost every three months and he became a Centurian Blood Donor 126 Out. 350 ml each time, he has donated more than 44 liters blood to his Alma mater.

on this special occasion Lions club Raipur members Lion Manhar Shah, Lion Nirmalesh Verma, Lion Sunil Chhabaria, Lion Prakash Lunawat, Lion Vijay Dave, Dr. Chandrakala Joshi, Dr. Vikas Bambeshwar, Dr. Aviral Mishra, Dr. Soodit Pal, Dr. Akash Lalwani, Dr. Ravina Yadav and others were present to cheer-up. Probably, it's a record of highest blood donation (126 times) by any pathologist or medical professional or government servant in the State of Chhattisgarh - claimed 65-year-old Dr Arvind Neral.

According to Dr Neral, the nobility of this legacy is also being followed by his family members as they too are regular blood donors. "Till date, my wife Sangeeta Neral has donated blood 26 times, while daughter Apoorva Neral and son Arindam Neral, have also contributed for this cause 30 and 18 times respectively," he added.

Dr Neral, whose expertise and experience in the medical profession is over 41 years, also motivates and encourages others for blood donation through various ways. He has penned a book, named "Tum Mujhe Khoon Do" encompassing scientific facts, question-answers, motivational stories, articles, quotations, and thought-provoking slogans exclusively on blood donation. The book was released by former Governor of Chhattisgarh Shri Balram Das Ji Tandon at Raj Bhawan.

To promote Voluntary Blood Donation, Dr Neral has published number of journals as well as contributed several articles, in both Hindi and English, which have been published in various news papers and magazines. He also delivered many talks on Blood Donation through All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan. One exclusive interview of Dr. Neral on blood donation was broadcasted in a programme "Sehatnama" by Vividh-Bharti Mumbai.

In this endeavour, Dr Arvind Neral, who is Professor, Head of Department (HOD) Pathology at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Medical College (Pt JNMMC) in Raipur, has created a 5-minutes duration motivational video on Blood Donation, which was released by Former Health Minister Shri T. S. Singhdeo Ji. Moreover, he has also been proactive in leading and organizing several programs to promote blood donation among the masses, with the help of Indian Red Cross Society, State Government, Lions Clubs, NGOs and other social organizations.

Additionally, he has conducted many seminars and lectures from time to time at various colleges, schools, NGOs and social organizations to create awareness and to eliminate various myths related to blood donation. For this immeasurable contributions Dr Arvind Neral has been felicitated with multiple titles of 'Raktveer', 'Centurian Blood Donor', 'Brand Ambassador' of Blood Donation, 'Raktdoot' and Raktshiromani.