More than 90 cricketers donate blood in Virar

MUMBAI: At a time when the city’s hospitals are struggling for blood to treat covid patients, cricketers from Vasai Taluka have decided to bat for humanity.
On Monday, more than 90 cricketers, who play for various local clubs in the city in Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) affiliated tournaments, voluntarily donated blood at the blood donation drive organised by JJ Hospital, Mumbai, in association with Vishnu Vaman Thakur Charitable Trust, VIVA College, and MCA affiliated Sainath Sports Club and Our’s Cricket Club, in Virar on Monday.Among them were current Mumbai senior team players Vinayak Bhoir and Royston Dias.
The blood donation camp was organised in the light of the advisory from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) for voluntary blood donations during the novel Covid-19 pandemic. The ministry has assured that there is no precedent for the occurrence of respiratory viruses being transmitted by transfusion.
Besides the cricketers, Kshitij Thakur, BVA MLA from Nalasopara,Pankaj Thakur, former Vice-President of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), Ajinkya Naik, Apex Council Member, MCA, and Shikhar Thakur, Treasurer, VIVA College too donated blood in the drive.
Ajinkya Naik said volunteering for blood donation will help save many lives. “We are in these tough times when there is unfortunately an abundance of patients and loss of blood in them. These cricketers have set an example for the whole state and country to come up and serve the nation,” he said.