A 57-year-old resident of the steel city has become the first person in Jharkhand to donate blood 150 times.

Surendra K. Jha, manager (primary steel making) at Tata Steel, reached the mark on Friday at Jamshedpur Blood Bank in Dhatkidih.

Voluntary Blood Donors’ Association, Jharkhand, will be requesting National Blood Transfusion Council and the state government to felicitate Jha for the feat achieved by him. Two other residents of the steel city — G.B. Chandrashekharan Raju and S.P. Trivedi — have donated blood 144 and 130 times, respectively.

Jha, a resident of Kadma and an adventure seeker, said he respected human values and blood donation was an integral part of it.

“I donate blood to respect human values. I will continue to attend blood donation camps. I don’t do it for achieving anything. Blood donation comes to me from within,” he added.

Jha started donating blood in 1981 and breached the 100-mark in 2007 to commemorate Tata Steel’s 100 years.

He, along with his friends, also trekked to Sandakphu, the highest point of Singalila Ridge in Darjeeling, Bengal, in December 2017 to celebrate in advance the completion of Tata Group’s 150 years in 2018. The trek was also aimed at raising awareness about the importance of blood donation.

He also treks Dalma hills and loves travelling to high altitude locations.

“I love adventure. It boosts my confidence level. My next blood donation will be to mark Tata Group’s 151 years,” Jha said, adding he donates blood four times a year.

He said he donated 300cc of blood at each camp.

Voluntary Blood Donors’ Association vice-president Shiv Kumar Singh confirmed Jha’s feat. “There are 41 people in Jharkhand who have donated blood 100 times. I have requested chief minister Raghubar Das to felicitate the donors on the occasion of World Blood Donors Day on June 14,” he said.

Singh, who himself has donated blood 100 times, said his association had been maintaining the records of blood donors since 1969.