Kolkata: It was a bloody good century for Manish Mehta on Saturday when he donated Single Donor Platelet (SDP) for the 100th time. Incidentally, Saturday was also the Hazra resident’s birthday, making it the best birthday he has celebrated in recent times. The SDP went to a patient who underwent a stem cell transplant at Tata Medical Centre (TMC) Kolkata.A trustee of Project Life Force (PLF), Mehta began his blood donation journey in 2013 while advocating for voluntary donations. He switched to SDP a few months later after an SOS call from Apollo Hospital Kolkata for a cancer patient. The tragic loss of a young family member to cancer in 2015 made Mehta even more resolute to donate SDP for cancer patients. He hasn’t looked back since.“I have gone through the agony, pain and anxiety that families of cancer patients go through. That experience made me go ahead with SDP donation with the hope to lessen the burden of cancer patients,” the businessman told TOI.For the past several years, Mehta has donated SDP almost every month. Because criteria for SDP donors are stricter than those for whole blood donors, the donor pool remains limited. Recognizing this need, Mehta reserves his eligibility strictly for SDP.“I get regular calls for the donation especially for outstation cancer patients who do not have family or acquaintances in the city,” added Mehta.Transfusion medicine specialist Suvro Datta of TMC explained that SDP is required mostly by patients with haematological disorders, blood cancers, or those undergoing stem cell transplants.“We have about 70 to 80 regular SDP donors. Mehta is a committed donor who comes at least once a month,” said Datta.On Saturday, Mehta asked his friends to accompany him to the hospital and donate blood as his birthday gift. Heeding his appeal, PLF fellows like Ajay Mittal donated blood while Mehta’s SDP procedure was underway.“Thousands of cancer patients come to our city with hope. It is people like Manish who quietly ensure that hope does not run out. 100 platelet donations is an extraordinary testament to compassion, dedication and commitmentMay he remain healthy and continue saving lives and inspiring many more to give,” said Mittal.
