Rajmata Krishna Kumari Girls’ Public School awards King Constantine Medal to Mr Jasvinder Pal Singh

Posted: 14 March 2022

Rajmata Krishna Kumari Girls’ Public School proudly awarded the King Constantine Medal to their Dean of Information Technology, Jasvinder Pal Singh for his inspiring and proactive attitude to blood donation during a global shortage.

Mr Singh donated blood every three months between 2020 and 2021 saying that “I found eternal bliss to save the lives of Covid 19 affected people.”

The World Health Organisation explains that safe blood ‘transfusion[s] are a critical aspect of care and public health. They save millions of lives and improve the health and quality of life of many patients every day. The need for blood is universal, but access to blood for all those who need it is not. Blood shortages are particularly acute in developing countries.’

“Blood is scarce, and blood donation is the greatest act of kindness, especially at a time when the world is facing one of the biggest health crises. Jodhpur, the second-largest city of Rajasthan, a major state of India faced a huge shortage of blood due to strict social distancing norms, cancellation of various blood drives and low donor turnout due to the COVID-19 crisis,” explains Sapna Gupta, the school’s RS Rep “While the rate of blood donations has declined drastically, the requirement for blood remains constant. The shortage of blood in the past few months in all the local hospitals were said to be detrimental to those who were in urgent need of blood.”

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many regular donors were unable to donate blood due to lockdown, curfews, or illness which contributed to this shortage and many blood banks have struggled to maintain a sufficient blood supply. In May 2021, the Times of India calculated that the entire shortfall came to over one million units of blood.

What kickstarted Mr Singh’s mission was a relative being hospitalised due to a severe road accident. “He needed blood immediately due to heavy blood loss,” reflects Mr Singh “The tears from the helpless wife and children of the injured broke my heart.”

But after finding out he was the same blood group (A+) he knew he had to act. “This small act of mine saved the life of my relative and this was a life changing experience for me. The happiness, I derived, cannot be expressed in mere words.”

Because of Mr Singh’s donations, he has helped save countless lives – at a time when it was needed the most.

“He is also zealously involved in all the social service endeavours of the school,” adds Sapna “he has been instrumental in creating and designing Community Service websites for our School and Trust. To conclude, he is a true humanitarian and a selfless donor. Life is precious and so is being a lifesaver like Mr Singh. We are proud to have recognised his important work by awarding him this medal”

“This medal means a lot to a layman like me,” says Mr Singh on being awarded the medal “It is a priceless honour that has added wings to my small deed. I feel extremely ecstatic to be of some help to someone. My philosophy is ‘What goes around, comes around.”