BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in Sydney organized a blood donation drive with the help of the Australian Red Cross Society on 6 December 2008 at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir.
The Red Cross provided a donor mobile that was capable of collecting blood from four individuals at a time. Each donor was registered before they were able to donate their blood. The entire process from registration to collection lasted approximately one hour per donor.
The response to the drive was tremendous. By the time the donor mobile left the Mandir at 5.00 p.m., at least 60 people had been able to donate blood. More than 40 individuals were asked to donate at the local Parramatta Blood Bank that afternoon or later in the week.
Healthy vegetarian snacks and light refreshments were served to all donors throughout the day.
Jane Whitfield of the Australian Red Cross Society commended BAPS on the well organized blood donation drive and reiterated the importance of giving blood and the many lives saved by such contributions.