NTR Memorial Trust Inaugurates Blood Bank in Vijayawada; Anantapur Facility Planned Soon
“Every blood donor is a lifesaver,” she said, emphasising that the new facility would help bridge the gap between patients in need of blood and donors willing to help.
Bhuvaneswari said the blood bank would strengthen healthcare services in Vijayawada, an important junction in Andhra Pradesh, and help patients access blood during medical emergencies.
The Trust was also planning to open another blood bank in Anantapur within a month, she announced.
Recalling the vision of the late N.T. Rama Rao (NTR), she said he had dedicated himself to improving the lives of ordinary people and ensuring that the benefits of development reached the most disadvantaged sections of society. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had established the NTR Memorial Trust to carry forward those ideals, she said.
For the past 29 years, the Trust had been working in healthcare, education, women’s empowerment, livelihood support and access to safe drinking water.
Bhuvaneswari said the Trust belonged to everyone committed to social service and called upon the public to support its initiatives.
Highlighting its healthcare programmes, she said the Trust’s Sanjeevani mobile clinics were taking medical services directly to people in need.
Through its NTR Arogya Rathams, the Trust aimed to extend healthcare services to poor people across Assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with special attention to tribal communities and remote areas. Free medical consultations and medicines were being provided through these initiatives.
Under the NTR Sujala programme, the Trust had also established reverse osmosis (RO) plants in several areas to provide safe drinking water.
On education, Bhuvaneswari said the Trust was working to improve opportunities for underprivileged students. Its women’s empowerment initiatives focused on helping women become financially independent and self-reliant. Through the Stree Shakti Handicrafts Store, women were provided marketing opportunities for their products to help them reach customers and earn a livelihood.
She said the Trust had also extended assistance to people affected by natural disasters, including floods and cyclones, and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Expressing concern over the difficulties faced by children with thalassemia, who require regular blood transfusions, Bhuvaneswari said the Trust had launched a programme in Hyderabad last year to provide free blood to affected children.
Through its Thalassemia Care Centre, it was providing support in the form of free blood transfusions, essential filters and medicines.
She announced that a thalassemia care centre would soon be established in Vijayawada to extend support to children and their families in the region.
The Trust already operates blood banks in Guntur, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Rajamahendravaram.
The new Vijayawada facility would expand its network and improve access to blood for patients requiring urgent treatment, she said.
On the occasion, Bhuvaneswari felicitated blood donors and individuals who had made valuable contributions to the Trust’s initiatives.
She appealed to more people to participate in blood donation and support healthcare services for the poor.
