Sandhani is a voluntary organization run by students of medical colleges in the health sector of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

that builds and manages blood and organ donation centers. In 2004, the government of Bangladesh awarded Sandhani the

Independence Day Award The Independence Day Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পদক), also termed Independence Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পুরস্কার), Swadhinata Padak, and Swadhinata Puroskar, is the highest state award given by t ...

, highest civilian award, for its contribution to social service.

History

Sandhani is the pioneer of voluntary blood donation movement in Bangladesh. Sandhani began operating from

Dhaka Medical College Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (abbreviated DMCH) is a public medical college and hospital located in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. It houses medical school as well as a tertiary care hospital on one campus. The country's first eve ...

on 5 February 1977, and on 17 October 1979,

Mymensingh Medical College Mymensingh Medical College ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ মেডিকেল কলেজ), formerly Lytton Medical School, is a public medical college and hospital in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. The institute was established in 1924 during the ...

emerged as the second unit of Sandhani. The activities of each unit are conducted through an executive committee consisting of the students of that particular unit and as well as a Central Council to coordinate all the units. Sandhani is now active in major cities of Bangladesh. In addition to blood donation, the organization also acts as a bank for human organs. The collected blood by Sandhani is tested for viral agents before storage. On 2 November 1978, Sandhani organized the first Voluntary Blood Donation Program at DMCH Blood Bank and later this day was declared as National Voluntary Blood Donation and Postmortem Day. The Sandhani Donor Club was established in 1982 and the Sandhani National Eye Donation Society and Sandhani National Eye Bank were established in 1984.

References

{{Reflist 1977 establishments in Bangladesh Recipients of the Independence Day Award Charities based in Bangladesh