Despite repeated messages from the Army that it does not need any blood, people are still falling for the bait and donating in the name of the war, ignorant that their blood is being used by local hospitals to meet the needs of their own patients.

Says Dr Deepak Joshi of Civil Hospital, ``We held eight camps in June, all by organisers who pledged solidarity with the soldiers fighting on the front. We had clarified to them that there was no question of sending the blood to Kargil. It could be sent to Bhuj, if the need arose. Otherwise, we would use it locally''.

He added that the Kargil situation had led to people donating more than usual and they now had a goodsupply.

Since blood has a shelf life of 30 days, donors can rest assured that it will be used locally. The Civil Hospital, where stocks received a boost of 225 bottles because of the BJP camp organised at Nandashram, admits to having 600 extra units of blood this month. Stocks have increased at VS Hospital Blood Bank also. ``We received 150 extra bottles of blood,'' says a staff member, adding, ``The situation in the bank is much better after Kargil.''

The mother of all blood banks, the Indian Red Cross, has organised 20 camps in the past one month, a sharp increase compared to their usual five monthly camps. Though officials are unwilling to specify how many of these camps were in the name of Kargil, they admit that stocks have risen to 1,500 bottles in the city itself. ``We have not sent any blood outside. The Army does not want it,'' says Darshana Trivedi, a volunteer. Adds Hon Secretary General Dr DT Contractor, ``We had a meeting at Raj Bhavan on June 19 and two days back, I issued a circular to allbranches not to collect any blood for Kargil''.

The ignorance -- whether genuine or contrived -- of agencies involved in this activity is amazing. ``The people collecting from us said they would be sending the blood to injured soldiers if the need arises. We have a lot of ex-servicemen working here. They were satisfied that they could make a contribution,'' says Mukund Achari, manager of Noble Detectives & Security. The company collected 140 bottles from employees and friends. The blood was taken by LG Hospital and the Red Cross.

In Surat, National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers are going to organise a blood donation camp on July 8, having organised one already. As many as 129 bottles of blood were collected during the last camp conducted jointly by the South Gujarat University and the Sardar Vallabhbhai Regional College of Engineering and Technology.

NSS co-ordinator Kunjum Thakore said that while he was aware of the Army's categorical statement, the NSS could not stop the proposed blood donation campfor Kargil victims, unless he had a directive from the NSS zonal office in Ahmedabad. ``The zonal office has asked us to organise camps to collect blood for the Kargil victims,'' said SGU vice chancellor.

Mafat Siroya of Jai Jawan Nagarik Samiti (JJNS), which collected more than 900 bottles in a single camp for Kargil victims, said, ``We just came to know from the Army website that they do not require blood and so have put on hold all immediate plans of collecting more blood.'' The JJNS has donated the blood to the city-based Lok Samarpan Raktadaan Kendra which has a storage capacity of 1000 bottles. ``The blood will remain with the LSRK and we will send it if the Army requires it again. If not, it can always be useful to the people,'' Siroya adds, explaining that the blood donation was was a spontaneous gesture of solidarity with soldiers.

In Vadodara, KGP and SSG Hospitals organised blood donation camps, the members of the women's wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enrolled as many as 575volunteers who pledged at a day-long camp called Kashmir Divas to donate blood whenever required in future for soldiers injured at Kargil.

Hospitals spokesperson Kamal Pathak says they had collected more than 100 units in the camp held a fortnight ago, but denied that Kargil was being used for collection.