Walking along 21,000 km to spread blood donation culture

Visakhapatnam: Highlighting the slogan '#Walk4Blood,'Delhi-based Kiran Verma stresses on the importance of donating blood by embarking on a 21,000-km walk across the country. His endeavour emphasises the need to promote a culture of blood donation in India so that no one dies waiting for blood in the country. Reaching Visakhapatnam, Kiran Verma says, "The idea is to encourage people to come forward to contribute to the cause and make do for the never-ending shortage of the units the blood banks suffer from."

Moved by how patients continue to endure trauma due to lack of blood availability, the 38-year-old decided to ease their pain. His urge to reach out to those who are in need of blood units made him bid adieu to his marketing profession and initiate 'Simply Blood', a virtual blood donation platform that connects donors and seekers through real time. "Launched in 2017, the virtual platform has saved thousands of lives," shares the founder of Simply Blood with The Hans India.

Starting from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Kiran covered over 100 districts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, among others. "What makes me glad is how people have come forward to volunteer for the cause by donating blood. About 3,000 donors have donated blood, extending support to the campaign," he says. After completing 10,200-km walking, Kiran says he intends to head to Odisha and West Bengal from Vizag.

With his wife Jayati extending support to his endeavour, he says that he plans to wrap up his mission by 2025 and look forward to meeting his five-year-old son. Making pit stops, meeting diverse communities, building awareness about blood donation among people, Kiran Verma walks for about 25-30-km a day from sunrise to sunset.