Whenever we have to go in a wedding, the first thing that comes in mind is “What gift to give?” Normally, we give gifts in marriages to shower our love and affection on the couple who are going to enter the new phase of their lives, but there are couples who have brought a transformation in the entire concept of “marriage gifts”. They have made their marriages memorable for themselves but for each and every guest who was a part of the marriage.
What transformation they brought? They brought a Human touch to the “marriage gift concept” rather than the materialistic touch. They not only persuaded their guests not to bring any gift but also convinced them to donate blood and human organs of their body.
Let us talk about some couples, who revolutionized the whole concept of Marriage gifts:
First, we will talk about Dr. R.B Bhesania, who has been very active since many years, in making people aware about the importance of donating blood and human organs. He practices in Vadodara, Gujarat; he thought of making a wonderful use of his daughter’s marriage function for making people aware about his mission. He almost shocked everyone when he asked the guests to donate their blood and body parts as a gift to the couple.
Dr. R B Bhesani tells about the event, “The idea was to spread awareness about donating blood and organs. A wedding is an auspicious occasion to make people understand the importance of life. My daughter Dhvani and son-in-law Jay Pandya (both doctors) readily agreed to donate their blood on the wedding day. It was the best wedding gift for us.”
A red rose was used for greeting the guests and the blood donation started with couple donating their blood at first number, Dr. R.B Bhesania tells further, “We had decided not to give any gold or valuables to our daughter. Instead, we asked the couple to take a pledge they would donate their blood and body as well. The couple also took the pledge that they would not support female foeticide, stay away from tobacco products and encourage others for blood and organ donation.”
375 bottles of blood was collected on this auspicious occasion and Guinness Book of World Records and Limca Book of Records also registered this event in their books.
Second, we are going to talk about Suvendu Kumar Pratap, who got married in Chandol village, Kendrapara district, Odisha. The couple also shocked their guests by requesting them to donate blood on their marriage function and what surprised the couple was the enthusiasm of the guests with which they participated to make the event a big hit.
Sachikanta Nath from Ama Odisha, who was one of the volunteers from the team of organizers said, “It was an unusual occasion, as the donors had not made up their minds to donate blood. They had come to attend the wedding reception. However, they spontaneously donated blood. In the past, we have organized blood donation camps at various places. But this was different. The organizers on most occasions struggle to arrange for donors, but the number of donors hardly reaches double digits. But, the blood donation camp was a different story altogether.”
Pratap, who got the inspiration from an NGO to organize this event, was the first one with his bride to donate the blood, he states, “My father Pramod Pratap also encouraged me to go ahead with this noble mission.”
Pratap’s wife Suchitra also felt good about the whole function as she said, “This was the first time I have donated blood. I was in awe. But, I felt relieved after donating blood. Blood donated by me could save someone’s life.”
The guests praised the couple’s thinking and attitude towards the noble cause and some said they will continue donating blood in the future also.