i not only accompany you from the womb to the tomb, but I am intricately linked to your very conception.  If not for the role that I play during the sexual act, no man would have been able to impregnate a woman through the natural process.

It is under the pressure of my flow that the pineal organ will give the erection, and consequently the eja­culation, through which semen is transferred to the woman's vaginal walls, and mate with ova. Even in the woman I play a very vital role. I flow to the vaginal walls and the cervix, and the clitoris, the primordial organ in the initiation of the woman's ejaculation, which in turn facilitates penetration.

If not for my presence in the uterus of a woman, no foetus would have been able to grow into a baby. Interestingly, each time a baby is born, I am one of the first things which accompany it for I come out from the uterus, along with the new-born.

Social existence
Apart from my biological purports, I also have a grand social existence. There are many people who say that “blood is thicker than water.” Here it is implied that in good and bad times, family members always stand by each other. However, I get sceptical over this issue when I see the rising rate of matricide, patricide, fratricide, sororicide, filicide, uxoricide, mariticide and other related kin homicide.

For aeons, especially through legends, myths, and literature, I have always been a subject of contempt. Legends have it that blood-sucking creatures like vampires would kill human beings to drink their blood. As time evolved, I was turned into an associate of witchdoctors.

They would cure the afflicted by evil spirits by offering blood to their deity. Unfortunately, this practice is still in vogue in the 21st Century. There are millions around the globe to resort to blood offering so as to come out of their problems. Due to this barbarous method of bringing solutions to problems, many innocent people, especially children, have been killed and their blood offered to some deity.

Interestingly, I have built an amazing network of audience and readers who devour blood-related narratives. Many Shakespearean plays evolve around me. Throughout the ages people have been relishing dramas like The Merchant of Venice where a pound of flesh is to be cut without shedding a single drop of blood. There were also tragic love stories like Romeo and Ju­liet where the Mon­ta­gu and the Capulet families are ever ready to shed the blood of the other. I have also created a big impact on spectators, and readers, through the play entitled Macbeth where blood remains a very powerful metaphor throughout its duration.

As time went by, I became a very interesting and acclaimed topic in the world of books. Very few of you would be able to say that you never read a book by the specialist in the thriller genre, Christopher Pike whose bloody stories most probably gave you goosebumps.

Still, as time elapsed, I paved my way into the cinematographic media. Whether in Hollyrood, Bollywood or Tollyrood, I have most certainly become a craze amidst the masses.

In food items
Did you know that people consume me? Yes, they do. Some cultures consume me as food, often in combination with meat. This may be in the form of blood soup, as a thickener for sauces, a cured salted form for times of food scarcity. There are blood sausages or blood puddings, blood stews, blood pancakes, and others. I can also be fried and eaten fresh, right away after the animal is slaughtered. However, some cultures consider blood to be a taboo form of food. In Jewish  and Muslim cultures, for instance, consuming me is forbidden by religious law.

As you can see, I am omnipresent in your lives in more than one way. However, there remains an aspect of me which interests very few people. I am here referring to myself as a life-saver. I hold the capacity of saving your lives upon need. But that is only if you volunteer to share me with others. I find that there are quite a few of you who have actually shared me with others.

Remember, I may be needed anytime, anywhere and by anyone. Let's take the example of diseases which require me to play a primary part. Bone marrow, Thalassemia and Haemophilus are some examples of the diseases which are linked to me. Then there are also and always patients with severe trauma and loss of blood, or  anemic patients who need blood transfusion.

Voluntary donors’ number is growing
Let us see what Subhanand Seegoolam, president of the Blood Donors' Association (BDA), has to say about blood donation in Mauritius.

“Only 5% of the Mauritian population are regular donors,” says  Seegoolam. That is why this organisation is always making earnest appeals to volunteers to come forth to donate blood. “Yearly there are some 800 patients who go for dialysis and some 400-450 who need blood transfusion during surgical operations,” he says.
Seegoolam says many persons are indifferent towards  blood donation. According to him, many people remain insensitive to the problem unless and until their own kith and kin require blood. That is why the appeal for donating blood should be constant.

This year, on the occasion of the Blood Donors' Day, emphasis has been laid on the sensitisation of the youths, aged between 18-25 years. “Last year we collected 46 000 pints. This year, our target is 50 000,” says Seegoolam.
He adds that during winter season, there are less blood donors. “However, we cannot forget road accident victims, and women with difficult delivery. These are two frequent cases where blood transfusion is badly needed,” he says.
Donating one's blood is the greatest gesture that one can do to mankind. “When we give our blood, we do not know to whom it will be going, and this feeling of joy at having helped someone in time of need cannot be compared to any other feeling,” he says.

One interesting and encouraging sign is that  compared to 10 years back when there were only 30% of blood donors, the rate of volunteers has now increased by 50%.