MUMBAI: “Donate Blood and Save Life”, a slogan heard and spread everywhere since years, donating blood is also considered to be every citizen’s responsibility. But how far do we abide the same?

There is a transgender community out there which desires to donate blood but is refrained from doing so. We know how to judge them on every aspect but do we know the importance of saving a life? What stops others to donate blood regularly?

Keeping the same in mind and highlighting the two aspects, on the occasion of World Donor Day, BOLD, a transgender modelling agency and WATConsult, the digital and social media agency from Dentsu Aegis Network India, joined hands to launch a campaign titled, #whydontyou.

The campaign revolves around how transgenders are not allowed to donate blood but what is stopping others. Why don’t the people who have the privilege to donate blood do so! The campaign involves a video featuring Rudrani Chettri Chauhan, a transgender who went against all odds to build India’s first LGBT modelling agency.

She is seen expressing the plight of the community which is judged upon, refrained from equality and basic rights, desire to save a life but unfortunately aren’t allowed to. She is seen urging the rest strata to stop judging them instead go and donate some part of their blood which could save a needy.

WATConsult founder and CEO Rajiv Dingra says, “Here are we who pro-actively judge, discard and ignore the existence of transgenders for many reasons but many of us cannot simply donate blood. We wanted to raise awareness about the need of Blood Donation and urge each one of us to become a donor sooner. #whydontyou is simple a step towards the same.”

BOLD Founder Rudrani Chettri Chauhan adds, “As the third gender, the society discards our existence and more importantly our blood, which can save a million lives. Not every transgender carries the HIV virus, as the public believes. So why waste good blood? But people do so many things to judge us, hold us back and do not do their own bit. I don’t know whether its fear or thought or just ignorance but its time, and I ask them why? When you can judge us, stare us, belittle us then why not do something for the society and donate blood?”

As a part of the campaign, the agency has created a microsite, www.whydontyou.in wherein a donor can register and donate blood with a Mumbai based blood donation bank, Triumph Blood Donation bank and for records, India needs 5 crore units of blood annually against an availability of 2.5 crore units.