Patna: Mukesh Hisaria's phone keeps on ringing and all calls are related to blood. From the common man to ministers to senior officers, when there is an urgent need for blood, they contact Mukesh Hisaria. Mukesh shares that he receives on average 10 calls in an hour.
Mukesh is known as the 'Blood Man of Bihar'. So far he has made available blood to over 70,000 needy people. Not only this, he is fond of doing social work. He has also helped in conducting the marriage of over 550 needy women free of cost.
"It was 1991, my mother's health deteriorated. We took her to Vellore for treatment. At that time, the kin of the other patients needed blood. Those who got blood had a smile on their face. Meanwhile, the doctors said that my mother needed to be operated on and it could be fatal. However, the operation was successful," Hisaria told ETV Bharat.
He said that after his mother recovered he thought of donating blood but did not know that it could be done only after completing 18 years of age. "I had said to doctors, if my mother recovered, I would donate blood. My mother recovered a month and a half after the operation. After that, I donated blood for the first time. After that twice a year, I used to visit a blood bank and donate blood. I continued this for 15 years," he added.
According to Mukesh Hisaria, the turning point in his journey came in 2006. "I was sitting at my medical shop on Govind Mitra Road. A 12-year-old child came to me crying. I asked the child why he was in tears. He said his mother was admitted and needed B-positive blood. It reminded me of 1991 when my mother was admitted," he recalled.
"There was Orkut platform then. I posted in the morning that B-positive blood was needed. I was scolded by my friends for putting up the post. However, one of my friends Sanjay Agarwal donated the blood to the needy woman," he remembered.
According to Mukesh, he had forgotten about the incident. "However, after a fortnight, the child came to my shop with his mother and the mother touched my feet. I was speechless, as I had not donated blood or treated her. I was just a medium to arrange the blood. After this, I decided to help the needy. I started arranging blood donation camps. Blood donation became my passion. After blood donation, the blood was sent to PMCH," he added.
He then decided to start a blood bank. "I started an organisation - 'Ma Vaishavdevi Seva Samiti' and started a book bank in 2022. An idol of Ma Vaishnav Devi was installed in it and it was inaugurated by Nitish Kumar," he recalled.
He shares a unit of blood can save the lives of three to four patients. "I have all the advanced equipment in the blood bank. Since the start, 12500 units of blood have been received. The cost in a government blood bank is Rs 500 and my rate is similar for a unit. The processing cost is Rs 1450. If any needy woman comes, she is given blood free of cost. Even those who do not have any relatives in Patna and finding a donor becomes difficult, such persons are also given blood free of cost. Cancer and Thalassemia patients are also given blood free of cost" he added.
He has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that there should be a column of blood in standard 10 examinations. "It should have information on whether blood thalassemia is minor or not. It will help while the children get married," he contended.
I have helped 57 children do the bone-marrow transplant. "I had urged Nitish Kumar in 2012-13 to help the needy children with bone marrow transplants. Now the Bihar government does bone marrow transplants for children. The state government gives Rs 10 lakh while the Centre provides financial assistance of Rs 3 lakh," he added.
He said around 40 people donate Rs 5000 per month to his organisation and the money is used for different purposes. He says he is also being helped by businessmen. Mukesh recalled that he shared the stage with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan while he was promoting his movie Fan in 2016. "I have also visited the Kapil Sharma show," he recalled.
