In run-up to 77th Army Day, blood donation drive held at 21 military stations under Southern Command

Pune will play host to the Army Day parade on January 15 and various other events. This will be the third time that a city, other than New Delhi, will host Army Day parade, keeping in line with the Union government’s decision to hold events of national importance outside the national capital in order to give them wider visibility and greater participation of citizens. The Army Day parades of 2023 and 2024 were hosted by Bangalore and Lucknow respectively.

The blood donation camps were set up at all military formations under the Southern Command at their respective military hospitals in Pune, Kirkee (Khadki), Kamptee, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ahilyanagar, Gwalior, Jodhpur, Jhansi, Babina, Bhopal, Nasirabad, Sagar, Secunderabad, Chennai, Avadi, Golconda, Belgaum, Cannanore, Trivandrum and Wellington.

“The drive, held across 21 locations within the command’s region, successfully contributed 1,537 units of blood to the blood banks, benefiting healthcare facilities across the southern region. The initiative was designed not only to meet the urgent requirements of blood banks but also to raise awareness about the importance of blood donation. A comprehensive outreach programme was conducted, encouraging volunteers from all walks of life to come forward and contribute to this noble cause,” said a press statement from the Southern Command.

At Pune, the blood donation drive was successfully organised at the Command Hospital, Southern Command, and the Military Hospital in Kirkee. A total of 120 units of blood were collected from these two camps during the drive. At Command Hospital, the event was conducted in partnership with Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) and Blood Transfusion and Blood Immunology Hematology Departments. The drive was inaugurated by Lieutenant General SP Singh, Chief of Staff, Southern Command.