Addressing India’s Blood Shortage, Abbott Launches an Awareness Campaignto Inspire India’s Youth to Donate Blood

While India has progressed considerably, there is still a gap in the country’s requirement of blood supply. As per current statistics, India requires an annual average of 14.6 million blood units, but there is a consistent shortfall of roughly one million units annually. Addressing this, global healthcare leader Abbott has extended its worldwide donor recruitment campaign,‘BETHE1,’ and launched the first-ever donor campaign song, ‘Give Blood. Get Good Vibes.’

This song aims to inspire Indian youth to donate blood, making blood donation a contemporary, compelling approach to build a healthier India. The vocals are by Tamojit Chatterjee, aka MC Headshot, an Indian hip-hop artist, rapper, lyricist, and stage performer.

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Talking about this initiative, MC Headshot said, “I am proud to be a part of this campaign as it aims to help address a very real-life challenge. I hope that all the young people out there will become aware that they can make a difference. If you are healthy and able to donate, I urge you to do so and help save lives”.

The campaign supplements prior on-ground efforts to promote blood donation. The company had launched the campaign in major cities across India, including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi, Nagpur, Vizag, Guwahati, Nagpur, and Nashik, with digital and physical assets, mobile donation vans, and more. These sites record approximately 300,000 annual donations, with an encouraging rise in donations by over 20% this year.

India has an eligible donor population of 402 million, yet it falls short of meeting the WHO’s minimum recommendation of 1% of the population donating blood. The country’s blood supply in 2022 was estimated at 33.8 per thousand donations, against the demand of 36.3 per thousand.

Dr Rajesh B Sawant, Consultant - Transfusion Medicine, Histocompatibility & Immunogenetics, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital & Medical Research Institute, Mumbai, said, “One donation can save up to three lives, and the process to donate blood typically only takes about 45 minutes to an hour. Addressing India’s blood deficit is essential to help avoid delays in critical blood transfusions for people in need. This can be done by raising awareness and tackling myths around blood donation, especially as there is a constant need for blood supply, not just for emergencies, but also for planned surgeries and long-term medical treatments.”

Voluntary blood donations are especially low in certain groups. While India has one of the youngest populations in the world, 85.5% of Indian youth (aged 18-25 years) reported that they had never donated blood. Further, only 10 to 12% of women are blood donors. The reasons include low awareness, misconception that blood donation could endanger their health, lack of clarity about the process, and inaccessibility to blood donation sites.

Blood donation – a powerful, life-saving behaviour – is key to treating women with complications during pregnancy and childbirth (like postpartum haemorrhage), children with severe anaemia, and supporting accident victims and surgical and cancer patients. In addition to this, regular blood donation also plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy iron levels in the body and stimulating the production of new blood cells. This selfless act not only saves lives but also offers advantages for the donor, including a reduced risk of cancer, lower blood pressure, improved mental state, a healthy liver, and improved plasma lipid profiles. It is a simple way to make a difference in someone’s life and receive gratitude in return.

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