Blood donation is not scary; instead, it can be as fun as a party. That’s what Bloodline, a non-profit organization (NGO) in Shanghai, wants to tell people.

Nearly 200 people, including expats and local residents in Shanghai, joined the “Guardian Angels Community Blood Drive” event a few days ago, to give others a hand. Dressed up for the Big Day, many of them put on the wings of an angel. After donating blood, they enjoyed a variety of activities held in the Shanghai Blood Center, including dancing and singing performances and Chinese cultural experience.

“Blood donation is very scary for a lot of people, but we want to change this, making it lively, almost like a charity party,” explained Dr. Ashish Maskay, founder of Bloodline. The Nepali man is a surgeon working for an expats’ hospital in Shanghai. After giving his first blood a few years ago, he came up with an idea to unite people to donate blood.

According to Maskay, Bloodline now has 2,500 followers, and each year, many of the members donate blood twice.“We invited more people to come [each time] and make blood donations that are about brotherhood & sisterhood, about giving back to the community and about love for each other. It’s all about positive vibes and positive energy.”

A core member of Bloodline, Vivek from India arrived at the blood center early. No matter which people of which nationality his blood will ultimately save, helping people on Earth is his only purpose. What’s more,“Shanghai is the city where I live. She has given me a lot of platforms and opportunities. I also want to give back to this city,” said Vivek. Having lived in the city for 11 years, he can speak fluent Mandarin.

Olivier and Kate are an Italian couple. After joining Bloodline four years ago, they often come in pairs to donate blood every year.“Blood donation has become a culture,” said Olivier. Speaking highly of the organization, he said everyone really put their heart into charity and he can really feel that they are happy.

“It’s very simple, just taking you a few minutes, and you can save lives,” said Corinne, a doctor from France. With an Rh-negative blood type, she wants to save lives by donating blood. As she said, many people worry blood donation will cause harm to the body, but actually, blood donation will not affect the body.

Just as Maskay said,“Bloodline is complete charity. But the feeling you get from saving people is very different.” In his opinion, one gets more back from giving, and the feeling one gets from charity is priceless. In the future, his dream is to make Bloodline a household name, so that people can easily look at it as something that is always available.“Some of our members may leave Shanghai one day, but we want Bloodline to remain a presence,” added Maskay.