New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) A 15-day blood donation drive will begin Saturday on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday with Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya urging citizens to register on the Aarogya Setu app or e-Raktkosh portal for donating blood.

The 'Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav' will continue till October 1 which is observed as National Voluntary Blood Donation Day.

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According to an official source, the drive aims to collect close to one lakh units of blood on a day besides raising awareness about the need for regular non-remunerated voluntary blood donations. One unit translates to 350 ml of blood.

Mandaviya will donate blood at a camp set up at Safdarjung Hospital on Saturday.

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"Tomorrow, on the occasion of the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav is going to start across the country. Let's donate blood and join the service of humanity. You can use the Aarogya Setu app or eraktkosh.in to register," he said in a tweet.

In another tweet, the health minister urged people to take a pledge to donate blood, saying countless precious lives can be saved with their contribution.

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others – Mahatma Gandhi. With this spirit join Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav beginning on September 17. Every blood donor is a life-saver," he wrote on Twitter.

According to the official source, the main purpose of the drive is to create a repository of voluntary blood donors so that anyone in need can get help on time and minimise the need for replacement blood donation.

Every blood bank is being encouraged to organise at least one blood donation camp as part of the mega drive.

Registrations have begun for voluntary blood donation on the Aarogya Setu portal under 'Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav' which calls on people to donate blood and be a part of the prime minister's mission for humanity, the official source said.

People who wish to donate blood can also register on the e-Raktkosh portal, the source added.

There are more than 3,900 blood banks in the country with adequate storage and processing capacity.

So far, 3,600 blood banks have linked with the e-Raktkosh portal and efforts are on to rope in the remaining with the same portal, the source said.

A normal healthy person has 5-6 litres of blood in their body and one can donate blood after every 3 months, an official said.

After donation, the shelf-life of blood is 35 to 42 days. The blood is also processed into components like plasma, red blood cells and platelets.

Frozen Plasma can be used for up to one year, while red blood cells can be used for up to 35-42 days. Platelets need to be used within five days, the official added.

All ministries and departments of the Government of India, states and Union Territories, various non-government and community-based organisations and other stakeholders will be involved in the event.

States have been requested to widely disseminate information about the drive to all medical colleges, hospitals, healthcare organisations, blood banks and other stakeholders for their active participation.

A live dashboard will be operationalised on the e-RaktKosh web portal to track the number of blood units collected from each state and Union Territory from September 17 to October 1.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)