A diehard Chiranjeevi fan, Hemanth Kumar Sharma started donating blood after he turned 18 inspired by the actor. “Audio cassettes featuring Chiranjeevi movies would have lines by the actor requesting people to donate blood and that is how I got started on donating blood as a small gesture to my idol,” says 33-year-old Hemanth, who was among those honoured at a World Blood Donor Day celebration in Chennai.
Hemanth works as a pujari in Sullurpeta, a small town bordering Tamil Nadu, and has built an army of volunteers by conducting blood donation camps under the banner of Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust. But what is more commendable about him is that he does not hesitate to travel to Chennai every time he is presented with a request from any of the groups to donate blood.
“It was Srivatsav Vema of Platelet Club who motivated me to start donating SDP or Single Donor Platelets and until today I have volunteered more than 40 times,” says Hemanth who has given blood more than 30 times.
Unlike regular blood donation, platelet donation is time-consuming.“This takes at least two hours. First they collect the sample, screen it and start the process for donation. One can donate SDP once in 15 to 30 days,” he says.
