“We are not a blood bank. We have created a database of potential blood donors of the various groups. I have saved the names, numbers and blood groups of the donors on my mobile phone. Our job is just to ensure that the patient who requires blood gets it on time from the potential donor,” S. Kowshik, Founder of Any Time Blood Donation Association, says.

Being this kind of a via media started in 2004 when Kowshik was employed as a nurse in Sri Ramakrishna Hospital in Coimbatore. One of the children in the cancer ward required blood and Kowshik entertained the request. He decided to donate blood as and when required.

His number was featured in the hospital where he worked and soon his number was shared with a few leading hospitals in Coimbatore. He kept getting repeated requests for blood and has been an active donor.

In 2006, Kowshik decided to create a database of potential donors with their blood group to help many more people. He joined hands with one of his friends E. N. Sreeram and in 2006 they formed Any Time Blood Donation Association.

The idea worked and soon the list of few hundred donors multiplied and Kowshik and Sreeram currently have a list of 4,500 potential donors belonging to various blood groups. The duo shares with us that they also have a list of people who are willing to donate blood during a medical emergency. Their stand-by blood donors can reach the hospital that requires blood in just 15-minutes of receiving the request.

The Any Time Blood Donation Association has helped a few lakh people by connecting the patient that requires blood with a donor. Kowshik and Sreeram invite donors to enrol with their blood donation database. They also request their existing donors to update them (Kowshik and Sreeram) in case they (the donors) change their mobile number as it is through mobile, this Association connects the donors with the patients.