Cheerful blood donor interacting with healthcare provider in an amiable setting of donation, conveying comfort, safety, and positivity during the process of donation.
The history of blood donation in India begins in Kolkata.
In March 1939 — before India's independence, before the formal healthcare infrastructure of the republic existed — the country's first blood bank was established in Kolkata at the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, managed by the Red Cross. It was set up by Shiv Deval Singh Greval, and its initial donors were government employees and members of the Anglo-Indian community donating for humanitarian causes.
That founding institution, in a city known for its social consciousness and intellectual history, established something that has persisted for over eight decades: Kolkata as a site of active, community-driven blood donation.
Today, Kolkata remains one of India's most medically significant cities — home to SSKM (PG Hospital), RG Kar Medical College, NRS Medical College, Calcutta Medical College, and a network of private hospitals that draw patients from across West Bengal, the northeast, and even neighbouring countries. Its blood donation needs are large, its infrastructure is substantial, and its challenges reflect those of every major Indian city: too many first-time donors, too few repeat volunteers, and a chronic shortage of specific blood types in crisis moments.
West Bengal has one of the more established blood donation cultures in India. The state's history of trade union activism, social movements, and community organising has created pathways for blood donation awareness that some other states lack.
The Indian Red Cross Society maintains significant blood banking operations in Kolkata. Multiple medical colleges run their own high-volume blood banks. And West Bengal — with its large thalassemia burden, particularly among Bengali communities — has driven sustained demand for regular voluntary donation that predates national awareness programmes.
West Bengal has a notable prevalence of thalassemia trait in certain Bengali communities — making voluntary blood donation not just a general public health act but a community responsibility that touches families directly.
Government and Medical College Blood Banks:
Indian Red Cross Society:
Trust and Voluntary Organisations:
Kolkata has one thing that most Indian cities lack: a deep tradition of community-based social mobilisation that has been leveraged for blood donation in ways other cities have not replicated.
Durga Puja committees — the neighbourhood organisations that run Kolkata's famous festival celebrations — have increasingly incorporated blood donation drives into their community activities. These clubs have direct access to neighbourhood populations, trusted community leadership, and organisational capacity that makes them effective blood donation venues.
Student political organisations at Jadavpur University, Presidency University, Calcutta University, and other institutions have a long tradition of organising campus blood donation drives that pre-date the national NSS movement.
Trade union affiliated organisations — Kolkata's industrial history means organised labour associations have also been occasional blood donation organisers.
This diversity of mobilisation pathways gives Kolkata's blood donation landscape a breadth that purely institutional or corporate-driven cities lack.
West Bengal has a significantly elevated thalassemia carrier rate in certain communities — particularly Bengali, Sindhi, and some other groups. The state's thalassemia burden is reflected in the dedicated advocacy work of thalassemia-focused organisations and in the high proportion of blood bank demand that comes from thalassemia patients.
Like Delhi and Mumbai, Kolkata serves as a referral centre for thalassemia patients from across West Bengal and the northeast — children who receive their monthly blood transfusions at facilities in Kolkata because the infrastructure in their home districts is insufficient.
For families managing thalassemia in Kolkata, building a reliable voluntary donor network through TheBloodApp is the most practical tool available for ensuring consistent monthly blood supply without the anxiety of replacement donation every cycle.
Despite its strengths, Kolkata's blood system faces challenges familiar across India:
Seasonal dependency: Like other cities, Kolkata's donation patterns dip during exam seasons and summer vacation. The city's large student population is both its greatest donation asset and its biggest seasonal vulnerability.
Geographic concentration: Blood banks are heavily concentrated in the central and north Kolkata medical college belt. Vast parts of south Kolkata, Howrah, and the Salt Lake/New Town IT corridor are relatively underserved by walk-in blood bank options.
Repeat donor retention: Like every Indian city, Kolkata's retention problem is real. The vibrant community mobilisation culture that generates large one-off drives does not automatically translate into habitual quarterly donation.
Rural West Bengal: Outside Kolkata, large parts of West Bengal — particularly tribal districts in the west (Jhargram, Purulia, Bankura) — have blood banking access gaps similar to other blood desert states.
Walk-in donations: SSKM, RG Kar, NRS, and Calcutta Medical College blood banks all accept voluntary walk-in donors. The IRCS West Bengal branch is an excellent contact point for organising or finding donation camps.
Donation camps: Kolkata's neighbourhood and community organisation network makes it one of India's easier cities to encounter blood donation camps — around Durga Puja preparations, during NSS drives, and through corporate CSR events in the Salt Lake/Sector V IT area.
TheBloodApp: Register your Kolkata location and blood type. Receive urgent alerts when your blood type is needed at hospitals across Kolkata and West Bengal. Find upcoming camps in your neighbourhood or district.
To submit an urgent blood request in Kolkata or find donation camps across West Bengal, call the number listed in TheBloodApp.
The city that gave India its first blood bank has a particular responsibility in the history of the country's transfusion medicine. That 1939 beginning — a small collection effort for wounded soldiers — has grown into a national system that now collects 14.6 million units annually.
Kolkata contributed to that story from the beginning. Continuing to contribute to it — through regular voluntary donation, through organised community drives, through platforms like TheBloodApp that connect Kolkata's donors to patients in need — is how that legacy remains alive.
Register on TheBloodApp. Be a Kolkata blood donor. Donate regularly. To find blood banks, donation camps, and make urgent blood requests across West Bengal, call the number listed in the app.
Sources: Wikipedia — Blood Donation in India | IRCS West Bengal | PMC — Voluntary Blood Donation India | Thalassemia Society of West Bengal | WHO India Blood Safety 2024 | BMJ Global Health — Blood Deserts | PLOS ONE National Blood Demand Study
Stay informed, stay inspired — your go-to source for everything about blood donation and impact.
India has set bold targets for its blood transfusion system by 2026 — 100% voluntary donation, full digital integration via eRaktKosh, NAT testing, and district-level blood access. Here's what it means.
Not all blood donations are the same. Here's a clear guide to the differences between whole blood, platelet, and plasma donation in India — who each type helps, and which is right for you.
Kolkata is home to India's first blood bank, established in 1939. Here's a complete guide to blood donation in Kolkata — blood banks, donation drives, and how to find urgent donors in West Bengal.
Be a part of the change — donate safely, stay connected, and help someone in need. Download the app today.
Available on
