Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain has called on the younger generation to come forward to promote voluntary blood donation and raise social awareness.
He made the call while addressing a programme as the chief guest at the Super Specialised Hospital of Bangladesh Medical University in Dhaka on Monday, marking National Voluntary Blood Donation and Posthumous Eye Donation Day-2026.
The minister said blood donation not only saves lives but is also a noble humanitarian act and an ongoing charity for the afterlife.
He said blood donation causes no physical harm and stressed the need to raise public awareness about this through campaigns involving families, educational institutions and all levels of society.
Sakhawat said blood donation activities should not remain confined to meetings and seminars but should instead be turned into a social movement.
He also emphasised the importance of conducting blood tests before marriage to determine whether prospective brides and grooms are carriers of thalassaemia.
He called for widespread awareness campaigns on the issue at schools, colleges and other levels.
Highlighting the contribution of Sandhani, the minister said the voluntary blood donation initiative, which began in 1978 with just six medical students, has grown into an important contributor to the country’s healthcare services.
He called for collective efforts to expand the humanitarian initiative further.
Additional Secretary ANM Moinul Islam chaired the programme.
Among others, Bangladesh Medical University Vice-Chancellor FM Siddiqui, Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB) President Harun Ur Rashid, DAB Secretary General Md Zahidul Islam Shakil and Directorate General of Medical Education Director General Nazmul Hossain attended the event.
