PRAKASH M. NADAR · BLOOD MAN OF INDIA
My blood runs through India.
I am Prakash M. Nadar. I may not be able to run, but I can carry a message across a nation: voluntary blood donation is an act of humanity that can give someone another chance at life.
A PERSONAL JOURNEY. A NATIONAL MESSAGE.
My name is Prakash M. Nadar. I was born in 1976 in Worli, Mumbai. When I was about one and a half years old, I was affected by polio and became physically disabled. I grew up facing challenges, but my parents taught me to believe in myself, work hard, help others and never give up.
Today, I am known as the Blood Man of India. My journey is not only about the times I have donated blood. It is about the conversations, awareness, journeys and people who have joined me in taking voluntary blood donation across India.
Count my ability,
not my disability.
FROM WORLI TO A NATIONWIDE MISSION
Every journey has a beginning. Mine began with the support of my parents, a moment when someone needed blood, and a decision to keep helping.
I was born in Worli, Mumbai, in 1976. At around one and a half years old, I was affected by polio. From childhood, I faced the everyday challenges of living with a physical disability. My father and mother made a lasting difference in my life. They taught me self-belief, hard work, kindness and the importance of never giving up.
Those values became the foundation of the humanitarian journey I would later choose.
My blood-donation journey began when I was 16 and a half. A family was facing a medical emergency and there was a serious shortage of blood. At the time, fear around HIV meant that even some relatives of the patient were unwilling to donate.
I was healthy and willing to help, so I stepped forward and donated blood. That first experience showed me how fear and uncertainty can keep people from coming forward — and how important voluntary blood donation can be when a patient needs help.
I realised that I should not only donate blood myself. I should also help remove fear, create awareness and encourage others to become voluntary donors.
In 1998, my father died because blood was not available when it was needed. His loss deeply affected me. It made me think about the many families who can face the same situation during a medical emergency. My father had always taught me to believe in my abilities; his death gave those lessons an even deeper meaning.
My mother also played an important role in supporting me through life's challenges. Together, the values I received from my parents became the foundation of my work for humanity.
I decided that my work should not be limited to donating blood myself. I wanted to encourage other people to become voluntary blood donors. In 2013, I took this work to a much larger level and began a mission to carry the message of blood donation across India.
I travelled from state to state, visited blood banks, met blood-bank teams, connected with people working in the field and spoke to communities about voluntary blood donation. Slowly, people from different states began joining and supporting the mission.
What began as one person's effort grew into a wider movement. Today, my journey includes 129 blood donations and a nationwide awareness mission across all 28 States and 5 Union Territories of India.
“If I can donate blood, travel across India, create awareness and encourage people despite my disability, then every eligible person can contribute in their own way.”
MY BLOOD, MY NATION.28 STATES. ONE MESSAGE.
This is the documentary record of my nationwide journey. Turn through all 28 original state pages in sequence, from Andhra Pradesh to Punjab. Use the arrows, swipe on a phone, or jump directly to a state.
About the state records — Each slide is a high-resolution page image rendered from the original A3 documentary PDFs you supplied. Move through the complete sequence from Andhra Pradesh to Punjab using Previous, Next, swipe gestures or the state selector. The slides are displayed directly on this website; you do not need to open a separate PDF to view the next state.
In 2022, I donated blood at the highest motorable road in Ladakh, at approximately 18,380 feet and in temperatures of around –3°C, with oxygen support. For me, it was not simply a record or an achievement. It was a demonstration that the spirit of serving humanity can go beyond physical limitations and difficult circumstances.
COURAGE IN AND OUT OF THE WATER
My journey has grown through blood donation, community awareness, endurance sport and service. These milestones show how a personal act became a nationwide message.
During a medical emergency and a shortage of blood, I stepped forward to help. That experience gave me a lifelong purpose.
Blood was not available when it was needed. The loss made the importance of blood availability painfully real to me.
A floating endurance record dated 14 October 2002 is included in the supplied achievement record.
The supplied record lists a floating achievement in 13-foot-deep water on 5 January 2004.
I began travelling from state to state, meeting blood-bank teams and communities to spread the message of voluntary blood donation.
The achievement booklet records a 42-kilometre sea swim completed in 17 hours and 25 minutes.
The profile records the donation at a high-altitude motorable road in Ladakh, in reported temperatures of around –3°C.
A MESSAGE THAT TRAVELS WITH ME
For me, the mission continues long after a donation session or a journey to another state. It is part of how I live, what I wear and what I pass on to my family.
For around nine years, I have continued wearing T-shirts carrying a blood-donation awareness message. Wherever I go, people notice the message and ask me about it. Something simple has helped me start conversations and spread awareness.
When both my children turned 18, they donated blood. Today, they are regular blood donors. It gives me great happiness to see the values behind this mission continuing into the next generation.
I am an International Para-Sports Champion, World Record Achiever and Social Worker. I have won 10 international medals, 135 national medals and achieved 5 world records. I am proud of these achievements, but I consider my contribution to voluntary blood donation my greatest achievement.
During my nationwide mission, I worked with government blood-donation and awareness organisations, including NACO, SBTC and NBTC. I have also received encouragement from Governors, Chief Ministers, Ministers, IAS officers, Members of Parliament, MLAs, social organisations, volunteers and citizens across India.
Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam has been a role model and source of inspiration for me. I have also had opportunities to work with well-known personalities such as Rajinikanth, and my work has received recognition through platforms such as The Kapil Sharma Show.
My work is guided by a wider belief: service should include people, protect our shared environment and make opportunity more accessible.
I am 90% locomotor disabled, but I have never allowed my disability to become a reason to stop serving humanity. I support the message that ability, dignity and access deserve to be recognised.
The campaign also carries an environmental message: protect water, plant trees and encourage everyday responsibility for the planet we share.
REAL MOMENTS FROM THE ARCHIVE
A curated selection from the photographs supplied with the profile — donation sessions, community events, recognition and the people who make the mission possible.
My goal is to keep striving until 100% voluntary blood donation is achieved in India. Become a donor when eligible, encourage friends and colleagues to learn about donation, and support safe, responsible blood donation through a registered blood centre.
“If I can do it, why can’t you?” Every person’s contribution is different. Donate only when eligible and after assessment by a licensed blood centre. This website is an awareness profile, not a blood bank or emergency blood-request service.