Mohammad Ashfaq's rare blood group matched with the boy and he rushed to help him.
How long does it take to arrange blood through a post on social media, especially when there is a desperate need for blood of a certain rare group? Not long if you are willing to donate, demonstrated a Muslim man from Bihar's Darbhanga, who rushed to save a two-day-old despite observing
roza or day-long fast.
While people can donate blood after
iftaar (breaking of the fast), the infant was in a critical state and Mohammad Ashfaq couldn't have waited. As soon as he read a post on Facebook urging for O negative blood, a rare group, for a new-born, and realised he was a match, he contacted the family and reached the hospital.
A few days ago, Aarti Kumari, the wife of a Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) jawan, who is posted in Arunachal Pradesh, had given birth to a boy at a private hospital. But soon after the baby's condition deteriorated and he was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). As the medical staff struggled to arrange blood for him, the family decided to post a request on Facebook. As luck would have it, Ashfaq read the post in time and offered to help.
Things, however, turned dramatic when he reached the hospital. When the doctors got to know he was observing
roza, they refused to take his blood putting Ashfaq in a dilemma. He pleaded with them, but the doctors didn't listen. Finally, he asked for food and broke his fast.
"Ramzan comes every year. I can fast again. But nothing compares to helping those in need irrespective of their religion. That's the true message of Islam," Ashfaq said.
He was sent by God, the jawan's mother told news agency ANI. "We were losing hope, but when Ashfaq offered his blood, it strengthened our faith in humanity. We are thankful to him for saving my grandson," she said.
Rakesh Goswami, another SSB jawan, who also came to the hospital to donate his blood, felt proud to see that a Muslim man saved the life of a Hindu boy.
He said, "By the time I reached the hospital, he had already donated his blood. He has set an example and proved the divisive forces wrong. Those who divide people on the basis of their religion should be ashamed. I can't explain in words how proud I feel today. I salute to Ashfaq."
Just like Ashfaq, Alam Jawed from Gopalganj, too, broke his
roza to help an eight-year-old boy suffering from thalassemia and was in urgent need of blood transfusion.
Last week in Dehradun, after getting a WhatsApp message about a 20-year-old with a dangerously low blood platelet count, Aarif Khan did his bit and said "it's humanity first for me".
(With inputs from ANI)