How Bandi Shravan’s Hyderabad Blood Donors Welfare Society is saving lives amid crisis
Hyderabad: In a city where the demand for blood donations often exceeds the available supply, 27-year-old software techie Bandi Shravan is working relentlessly to bridge this gap. Born and raised in Dharmapuri Village, Jagitial district, Shravan has become a beacon of hope for countless lives through his initiative, the Hyderabad Blood Donors Welfare Society, a movement that aims to make blood accessible to all. Speaking with Hyderabad Mail, Shravan shares his journey and the inspiring work he is doing to save lives.
His journey into blood donation began in 2014 during his first year of BTech, when he was a young student in Hyderabad. It was a tragic incident that set the stage for his life’s mission. He vividly recalls a family struggling to arrange platelets for their father, who was battling a severe case of dengue. Desperately seeking help, the family had turned to friends and colleagues, but no one responded. Despite their best efforts, the patient passed away in the early hours of the morning. This event had a profound impact on Shravan, driving him to take action and prevent such situations in the future.
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“I promised myself that I would do everything in my power to help people in such dire situations,” says Shravan. “It was a wake-up call for me.”
The event in 2014 marked the birth of his resolve to establish a structured system for blood donation. What began as a personal effort to help one family soon blossomed into the formation of the Hyderabad Blood Donors Welfare Society. With his passion for saving lives, Shravan started by gathering information about donors across various colleges in Hyderabad. Armed with just a Google form, he began collecting crucial data, such as blood group, donor locations, and last donation dates.
“We started with just 800 to 900 registered donors in 2018. It was a slow but steady growth. We were just college students back then, but we were determined,” Shravan recalls.
However, it was the COVID-19 pandemic that truly tested the limits of Shravan’s resolve. The onset of the pandemic caused an unprecedented shortage of blood, and at times, it was impossible for donors to even reach hospitals due to restrictions. People were scared, and rumors spread that donating blood during the pandemic would lead to loss of immunity or even death.
“People didn’t want to step out. They were scared. And those who tried to donate were stopped by police, even beaten up at times. But we didn’t give up,” says Shravan, who worked tirelessly through the pandemic. He even coordinated with the police to ensure donors could safely reach hospitals.
The success of his efforts is evident and during the COVID-19 period, Shravan’s organization facilitated over 2,000 donations, and by the end of the pandemic, the society’s donor registry had expanded to over 15,000. It was a massive victory for Shravan and his team, but he wasn’t ready to stop there.
The key to his success has been leveraging social media for awareness. While many people knew that they could donate blood, they often didn’t know where or how to help. Shravan used platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to spread the word. “When I post a blood requirement on Twitter, it reaches more people, and more people are willing to come forward. Social media has become a powerful tool for us to connect people with the donors they need,” Shravan explains.
In May 2021, Shravan conducted his first blood donation camp in his hometown of Dharmapuri, Jagitial district. Despite the ongoing fears surrounding COVID-19, the camp saw a remarkable turnout, with 117 donors participating, a significant milestone in his journey. “The first camp was difficult, but seeing so many people come together to help made it all worth it,” he recalls.
However, the path hasn’t been smooth. The Hyderabad Blood Donors Welfare Society has faced challenges from multiple fronts, particularly the rise of scammers. Many desperate patients are duped into paying large amounts of money to individuals pretending to be blood donors. “I’ve seen it all, people asking for money to help with transport charges, only to disappear once they’ve received the funds. These scammers prey on vulnerable families in distress,” Shravan says.
To counteract this, Shravan and his team launched an awareness campaign, urging families to avoid giving any money to blood donors, reinforcing that blood donations should always be voluntary. “We have to raise awareness. If people are not careful, they will continue to fall into the traps set by these scammers,” he adds.
In the years since he founded the Hyderabad Blood Donors Welfare Society, Shravan’s initiative has grown far beyond what he imagined. What started as a small college project now has far-reaching impact, helping thousands of families. With an ever-expanding database of donors, Shravan and his team ensure that no one has to face the agonizing challenge of finding a blood donor in an emergency.
Shravan also aims to develop a mobile app to further streamline the process of donor matching. His vision is to create a system where donors can be automatically notified of urgent blood requirements, and he hopes to scale this initiative across the country.
“We want to make sure that no family, no person, ever has to face the horrors of not being able to arrange blood for a loved one,” he says. “This is just the beginning, and I believe we can do so much more.”
His ultimate goal is simple yet powerful: one donor per family, a vision that could transform the way blood donations are managed in the future.
Hyderabad Hero: Techie-turned-life-saver Bandi Shravan’s Hyderabad Blood Donors Welfare Society is tackling critical blood shortages across the region. What started as a small college initiative has grown into a movement with over 15,000 donors, saving lives. People in need of… pic.twitter.com/OOhCSHVXxT
— Hyderabad Mail (@Hyderabad_Mail) March 6, 2025
