‘I want to create 300 more Sanjay Bapats’

A triple century has gone up in lights on the scoreboard of the Tata Memorial Centre TMC at Parel after Dadar resident Sanjay Bapat donated platelets for the 300th time at the venue late Friday morningHe was felicitated with a memento at the TMC on Friday Bapat has been donating platelets since 1993 Bapat said ldquoI have been donating platelets at TMC since the day a machine came which if I remember correctly was in 1993 I think I was the third donor on that day Earlier we could donate once a month Now a donor can donate once in a fortnightrdquoFor awarenessThe 55yearold biomedical professional said ldquoUnlike blood donation platelet donation takes roughly 1 hour 15 minutes We certainly need more awareness about this kind of donation With social media we do have a platelet donorsrsquo group but overall platelet donation will still elicit a huh Whatrsquos that responserdquoSanjay Bapat biomedical professionalThough the TMC has acknowledged and felicitated Bapat the donor said ldquoThis may be a milestone but I never donate to create records or for recognition I am simply doing something for society If I can motivate others then I consider it a mission accomplished Today we see blood spilt in the RussiaUkraine war How much better and nobler to give blood or platelets and save lives rather than to spill it and take livesrdquo said Bapat in a current relatable twistAs he finished his triple century donation innings Bapat hit a swashbuckling six as he explained ldquoI have finished donating 300 times Now my aim is to make 300 donors I want to motivate at least 300 people to donate platelets There should not be only one Sanjay Bapat but at least 300 more I look forward to creating that recordrdquoThe parachuteTMCrsquos Dr Sunil Rajadhyaksha Head Transfusion Medicine said ldquoPlatelets are very precious and the need for platelet donors is huge Platelets are like a parachute if a patient is bleeding you want the blood to clot to stem the bleeding and that platelets can do You need platelets at that time it is no use getting them tomorrow Since you need to be hooked up to a machine for donation and potential donors have to be tested prior it is difficult to run camps in residential societies or public places for platelet donation like they do for blood donation to motivate prospective donors consistentlyrdquoRecord rushThe doctor added as a cautionary note though ldquoOne can donate platelets 24 times maximum in a year I must emphasise that you need to adhere to norms for your safety when it comes to platelet donation There are individuals who may flout this in a bid to create records They may have donated 100 times till then and the next year they are at 150rdquo Having said that the doctor acknowledged the momentous occasion they celebrated at the Centre on FridayldquoI salute every donorrsquos passion and commitment In the rush lsquonrsquo crush not a minute to waste Mumbai lifestyle 75 minutes for donation may seem challenging I tell people some minutes of your time can mean somebodyrsquos lifetimerdquo he said