A man in his mid-40s hitched a motorcycle ride late on Wednesday and came all the way from Bally in Howrah to SSKM Hospital to donate two units of Bombay blood, a rare type, for a patient who was awaiting a critical operation on his left leg.

Nilkantha Das reached the hospital’s blood bank around 11pm, covering a distance of around 18km. By the time he returned home early on Thursday, doctors at the surgery ward had started preparing Montu Sarkar from Amtala, in South 24-Parganas, for the operation.

On Thursday afternoon, surgeons stepped out of the operating theatre and informed Montu's family members that the procedure had been successful.

Nilkantha, who works in the back office as a member of the sales team of a hosiery group in Sector V, knew he had to respond when a call came from SSKM’s blood bank on Wednesday night.

There was a strong stirring inside and he had to go, Covid pandemic notwithstanding. Around 10pm, he called one of his neighbours and rode pillion on his two-wheeler to the hospital.

“Since this is a rare blood group, whenever someone requires it, I know what it means. Manusher rokto ta dorkar. (The man requires blood). Er beshi aami kichhu jani ni. (I didn’t know anything beyond this),” Nilkantha said.

“I did not have to donate blood earlier during the pandemic. But if it was required, I wouldn’t have hesitated.”

Nilkantha’s words offer hope for state-run blood banks across Calcutta that are battling a shortage. The blood bank at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, for instance, has 40 per cent less stock compared with the demand.

“People are afraid to turn up at blood donation camps because of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are trying nevertheless,” an official of the blood bank said on Thursday. At the SSKM blood bank, the daily requirement is around 350 units. At a donation camp held around two weeks back, a team from the hospital had collected 260 units.

“The Bombay blood group is a rarity and people like Nilkantha stand out during these times with their gestures,” said an official at the SSKM blood bank. “We wanted to send him a car at his home. But he refused saying that would mean loss of precious time.”

Montu’s family is thankful to Nilkantha for his priceless contribution to the effort to save a part of the left leg of the businessman. The rest of the leg had to be amputated as a part of a pillar of his rented office space in Amtala collapsed.

Montu runs a small factory that manufactures mineral water. On July 28, a part of the pillar came crashing down, leaving Montu with gashes on his head and a severely damaged left leg.

“He received 23 stitches on his head,” said Biswajit Pal, one of his family members. “Two other persons had donated blood. But Nilkantha’s donation ensured that the surgery could take place.”