Maksam Tayeng

 

PASIGHAT, Feb 15: Standing true to its motto ‘sharing my love through my veins’, the founder cum chairman of AYANG, a voluntary blood donating NGO, Aini Taki Taloh organized a day-long voluntary blood donation camp on Valentine’s Day at Bakin Pertin General Hospital here on February 14 where students and faculty members of the College of Horticulture & Forestry, Pasighat and Central Agricultural University, Imphal participated in high spirits.

Attending the camp, Joint Director, Health Services (Training & Research), Bakin Pertin General Hospital, Dr D Rana deeply appreciated AYANG’s initiative and expressed hope that the drive would help save many more lives. The college’s NSS unit Programme Officer also expressed interest to install a booth and open a sub-branch of AYANG at the campus for blood donation/requirement.

More than 50 donors turned up for the camp. AYANG founding Chairman Aini Taki Taloh is well known regular blood donor herself. Being a woman she has defied traditional belief that women cannot donate blood.  

Taloh said that she started the initiative after coming across several incidents where patients for want of blood post surgery etc, were compelled to run around for blood and often ended up paying huge amount to commercial blood donors.

“I started my initiative in 2008 and formed AYANG after few years in order to create a platform for voluntary blood donors to connect. Today, our works and appreciation have reached state, national and even International level and we have blood donors from Nepal and Sudan,” she added proudly who is now popularly called ‘Ayi’ my many youths which means ‘Mother’ in the local Adi dialect.

Taloh, who has already been recognized by the Governor of West Bengal with appreciation and memento, was recently awarded Gold Medal by the Government of Arunachal Pradesh.

Needy patients can call AYANG at any time and as per requirement, voluntary blood donors turn up smilingly, whether it is in Pasighat or at the state capital, Itanagar or Guwahati.