Hyderabad, Sep 4 (IANS): Megastar K. Chiranjeevi on Sunday revealed that he set up Chiranjeevi Blood Bank as he was moved by the death of many people due to blood shortage in 1998.

Stating that he had many fans who were ready to do anything for him, he said he wanted to use this love and affection for the benefit of people.

Chiranjeevi was speaking at an event at Raj Bhavan, where Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan felicitated and distributed free life insurance policies to volunteers for donating blood for more than 50 times at Chiranjeevi Eye and Blood Bank.

The actor said so far 9.30 lakh units blood has been collected and 70 per cent of this was provided to the poor free of cost while the remaining was given to private hospitals.

He said the problem of blood shortage has been resolved to a large extent in the two Telugu states.

Chiranjeevi revealed that 2,000 to 3,000 people are frequently donating blood. He said the 'Chiru Bhadratha' scheme was started by the Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust (CCT) to provide security to donors.

Under the scheme, each frequent blood donor has been insured for Rs 7 lakh and the premium was being paid by the trust.

The Governor, in her speech, said that blood donation is a noble cause. She recalled that when she was the house surgeon, even family members of patients were reluctant to come forward to donate flood

She lauded Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust for immense efforts in collecting 9,30,000 units of blood and 4,580 pairs of eyes.

Appreciating Chiranjeevi for being inspirational and brand ambassador for blood donation, she said that this is an unprecedented monumental initiative by any film star in India for encouraging their fans to contribute to a noble cause for the betterment of society.

She said a blood donation programme was being undertaken by Raj Bhavan. An app has been developed to ensure that the needy get the blood on time. She requested the CCT to become part of this initiative.