Governor S. Abdul Nazeer, who is also the president of Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) Andhra Pradesh branch, flagged off two mobile blood collection buses of IRCS at a programme held at Raj Bhavan here on Friday.
Dr. A. Sridhar Reddy, Chairman, and A.K. Parida, general secretary of the branch, said the vehicles were donated by the Canadian Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross through IRCS, New Delhi.
Each air-conditioned bus worth about ₹1 crore is equipped for spot blood collection, vaccine administration and other services.
The buses will be handed over to the IRCS district branches of Anantapur and Chittoor.
Dr. Sridhar Reddy said in addition to the existing 18 Red Cross Blood Banks in the State, three more were established at Narasaraopet, Tirupati and Bhimavaram recently. Half of the collected blood units were being provided free of cost to Thalassemia patients and poor people, he added.
