Voluntary blood donation pioneer passes away at 95

Leaving behind some unforgettable memories, 95-year-old renowned social worker and pioneer of voluntary blood donation in India, Kanta Saroop Krishen breathed her last in Chandigarh today. She had been undergoing treatment for two weeks now, after a fall, at the PGI.

Awarded a Padma Shri, the nonagenarian was known for starting a movement for voluntary blood donation. She went on to become president of the Blood Bank Society and was also the founder secretary of the Indian Society of Blood Transfusion & Immunohaematology (ISBTI) for four decades.

Born in 1929 in West Punjab (now Pakistan), Kanta was married to Saroop Krishen, an IAS officer, and the first Chief Secretary of Haryana. She found her passion for the noble cause when she met JG Jolly, the then professor and head of the Department of Transfusion Medicine, PGI. She started associating with him in combating commercial blood donations, which posed the danger of unsafe blood.

Kanta was the spirit behind the filing of the PIL, which led to the landmark judgment in 1996 of banning, buying and selling of blood in India. She was responsible for persuading the Centre to frame the National Blood Policy.

She was also associated with the Indian Red Cross Society, Women’s Defence Council, Bharat Scouts and Guides and Child Welfare Council. In 2004, she set up a blood bank in Sector 37 in association with the Rotary Club. Called Rotary and Blood Bank Society Resource Centre, it runs on the concept of 100 per cent voluntary blood donation, and issues blood and (blood) components free of cost to needy patients.

Her voluntary work, spread over six decades, has helped save millions of lives. In death also she has left her mark by donating her body to the cause of science at the PGI.

There will be no cremation. Candles will be lit in her memory between 11 am and 1 pm tomorrow at her residence, where her body will be kept for people to pay their last respects.