It was 2007 and Mumbai was reeling under an outbreak of malaria, dengue and leptospirosis. The blood bank at the KEM Hospital was in urgent need of blood and platelets. Dr Ravikant Singh, in the first year of a post-graduate course in public health administration, was leaving the canteen after breakfast when he saw a notice for donors. He was a regular donor himself but it struck him that the problem could be solved more effectively with a bigger campaign.
Dr Ravikant, as he likes to be known, spoke to a few other young doctors like himself and soon they had two banners with which they launched a platelet awareness and donation drive. Their effort instantly attracted attention. A report in a Mumbai newspaper helped. The number of platelet donors doubled and the KEM Hospital blood bank no longer had a shortage.